Uncle Roy
by Mix Matcher
Summary: If the title doesn't explain enough...Then you're just plain stupid. Co-written with DeCembEr-AnGeL-BaBY & featuring two of her OC's. And of course, my OC as well. Some cursing. Some Royai
1. OverPriced Tickets & KindHearted Elrics

**Griffon's POV  
**  
"A ticket is to East City how much?" I asked the teller in disbelief. She repeated the price again.

Oh man, I'm two hundred dollars short. I work my but off for months repairing cars & unclogging drains, then walking for two days to get to a town with a station, just to find out that I can't even afford the damn ticket. "Thank you for your time." I said, & left the window.

I could have used alchemy & hopped the train, but the place was way too crowded for me to do so without everyone freaking out. I moved to leave, but accidentally rammed my head into hard metal.

"Are you okay?" A boy asked.

I looked up to see a suit of armor. "Yeah, my brother says I have a hard head."

"You aren't getting a ticket?" he asked, holding up the two of his own.

"Nah, I'm short a couple hundred bucks." I told him, shaking my head.

The boy probably smiled behind the armor. "I'll buy it for you. You can pay me back when you get the money." He began walking to the window.

"What?" I gasped, following behind him. "But I'm a complete stranger to you. You don't know what kind of person I am; you don't even know my name."

I was way too late, the woman handed him the ticket & he gave it to me. "Okay then, I'm Alphonse Elric. What's your name?"

"Griffon Heights." I told him & stuck out a hand, which he shook. "Nice to meet you, Alphonse."

"Al! What are you doing, the train's about to leave." Another boy called as he ran up to us.

"Come on." Al grabbed my hand again, making me get on the train & give my ticket to the man by the doors.

When we sat down, the other boy sighed in relief. He had golden blond hair & matching eyes. "So, who's this?" he pointed at me.

"This is Griffon." Al introduced me. "I bought her a ticket since she didn't have the money."

The boy mumbled something about being too nice. "I'm Edward Elric."

"You can't be Edward Elric." I gasped. I was trying to make friends with him, so it wouldn't hurt to kiss up. "Edward Elric is supposed to be a shrimp, you're much too tall."

"I think I like this girl." Edward said.

I laughed. These guys were cool already. Al was half a year older than me; Ed was a year older than Al. Their dad abandoned them & their mom died from a sickness. Ed was a state alchemist, which didn't really bother me, & they traveled all over. They learned that my parents were dead - my dad in Ishbal & my mother of an illness - my little sister caught the same disease as my mother & was in the hospital, my brother & I were separated a few months back. Oh, & that I was looking for any family I could. Neither of my parents had written a will, so we took what we could find. I don't have very good luck; most of them were either dead or really disgusted by the thought of a fifteen-almost sixteen-year-old girl trying to find them.

"So, how many people are left?" Ed asked.

I pulled out my mother's old address book & opened it up. "Well, I can't tell. The last family member, a cousin named Trudy, tossed my mom's book in a puddle. Now it's water-logged & I can't read it anymore." I handed the book to Al.

"I think it says 'Ron' or 'Roy.'" He told me.

Edward stretched out on his seat. "We can ask Mustang, he's in the military, maybe he knows."

"Yeah, maybe." I replied. I tucked the book away & started staring at the window.

"It's a long ride. You should try & get a little rest." Al told me after a few minutes, pointing at Ed, who was already asleep.

I yawned, "I guess you're right." I slip down a little lower in my seat & closed my eyes, slowly falling to sleep.

**Flannery's POV**

My sister Aquanette and I were waiting at the train station for the Elric brothers. My father, the one and only Colonel Roy Mustang wanted us to wait for the Elric brothers and to make sure that they went straight to Headquarters and didn't do anything stupid.

"Where the heck are they?" Aqua asked.

"I don't know they should be here by now" I said looking at my watch.

"Flannery, Aquanette what're you doing here?" Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse who for some strange reason was holding a girl that I've never seen before said walking over to us.

"Our Dad sent us" I said putting one of my hands on my hips.

"To make sure you didn't do anything stupid" Aqua said folding her arms across chest.

"Aww man the Colonel's always messing with me" Edward said rubbing his head.

"Hey Al who's the chick?" Aqua asked.

"This is Griffon I helped pay for her ticket" Al said.

"Aww that's so sweet Alphonse" I said with a small smile. Then Aqua and I did what we always did in that situation. We slapped Edward in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Edward said grabbing the back of his head.

"Why can't you be more like him?!" We said.

Edward mumbled something but I couldn't hear it.

"Alright let's get going" I said.

We arrived at Headquarters and walked to my father's office. I gave a couple taps to the door.

"Dad we got the Elric Brothers" Aqua said.

"Alright come in." Dad said with a groan.

We walked inside and Dad was sitting at his desk and Mom was standing next to his desk as usual.

"Thank you girls" Daddy said handing us each five dollars.

"Alphonse, who is that girl?" Mommy asked.

"This is Griffon she rode on the train with us." Alphonse said. "She was very tired and I didn't want to wake her so I carried her."

"You better wake her up" Edward said.

"Oh right. Griffon" Alphonse said moving his arm slightly. Griffon moved slightly before letting out a yawn.

"That was a good nap" Griffon said standing up straight to stretch out her body. She noticed the other people in the room and let out a tiny blush. "Uh hello"

"Griffon this is Colonel Mustang, his wife Lieutenant Hawkeye, and their spawns of satan Flannery and Aquanette" Edward said with a smirk. Aqua and I glared at him before we gave him a punch to both shoulders.

"Ow!" Edward said.

"Nice to meet you sir. Excuse me if I sound weird Colonel but have we met before?" Griffon asked.

"You do look familiar but I can't say I recall" Daddy said trying to think.

"Daddy must be having déjà vu" I said.

"Déjà what?" Aqua asked.

"It means having a feeling that you've been in a situation before" I explained.

"That's stupid why didn't they just call it rewind?" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Oh Aquanette there's so much not right about you" I said rubbing my temples.

"So Griffon where are you staying tonight?" Mommy asked.

"I was thinking I might sneak into a hotel tonight." Griffon said with a shrug.

"You can't sneak into a Hotel here you'll get in trouble" I said with a shrug.

"Well I don't have any money I spent it all on a train ticket here." Griffon said.

"Daddy can Griffon stay with us?" I suggested.

"Well I don't know girls-" Daddy said.

"Pretty please Daddy? She needs a place to stay" Aqua said.

"Well I guess it couldn't hurt" Daddy said with a shrug. Aqua and I gave him a hug.

"You're such a good Daddy. Mwah!" I said kissing his cheek.

"Yea, yea, yea" Daddy said with a smirk.

"C'mon Griffon let's go get some grub" Aqua said grabbing Griffon's wrist.

"Yea you much be hungry from your long trip" I said.

"Yea but I-" Griffon started but Aqua cut her off.

"Cool! Mom, Dad we'll be in the mess hall" Aqua said.

"Okay stay out of trouble" Mommy said.

"Yes ma'am" We both said pulling Griffon out.

Later that day we loaded up Griffon's luggage into our car and drove home to our house here. We had another one Central just in case Mommy and Daddy got stationed there again.

"Home sweet home" Mommy said. "Girls help Griffon get her bags out the car"

"Yes ma'am" Aqua and I said running toward the trunk of the car. We pulled out Griffon's luggage and walked into the house.

"Nice place you have here" Griffon said.

"Thanks. The guest room is upstairs you can stay there tonight. Our room is downstairs if you need us and you're right across the hall from the twins. So make yourself at home" Mommy said.

"Thank you Lieutenant Hawkeye" Griffon said.

"You can call me Riza. C'mon Roy we better get changed. Tell us if you need anything" Mommy said walking away with Daddy.

**Griffon's POV**

Okay, I love it here with the Mustangs. I swear that name rings a bell. I shrugged off the thought & pulled on my lucky charm, a light brown leather wrist gauntlet with green & red gems, before joining the family downstairs.

"Hi again. Um, is it okay if I go for a little walk?" I asked the Colonel.

He nodded. "Yes, but be careful. You still don't know you're way around East City. You could get lost if you're not careful."

I raised my right hand in a salute. "Thank you, Colonel Mustang for that unnecessary speech, sir. Forgive me my rudeness." I rushed out the door after that, not wanting to get in trouble with the nice family.

"Wait up." The twins called. I turned around just as they closed the door. "We'll go with you."

I shrugged & let them tag along. I grew up here until I was six. I knew this place like the back of my hand. "Oh, wait, they don't know that." I told myself under my breath.

"Where are you going?" Flannery asked.

"Either a library or PRO – public records office – to find something about my family." I informed her. "I've been trying to find a family member that will actually help take care of me now that my parents are dead & my brother is missing."

Aqua looked at Flannery. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Shut up Aqua." Flannery hissed quickly, "Have you been having any luck?"

I turned a corner, into an ally, & started climbing up a fire escape ladder. "In a way, my cousin, Trudy, is the only one that's still alive so far. She threw my mom's old address book in the water & it got destroyed." I turned back & motioned for the twins to follow. "Come on, it's much quicker to get places when you travel across the rooftops."

Aqua shrugged & started up the ladder, pulling Flannery over with her. "Sounds good to me."

"That doesn't seem too safe." Flannery began.

"Momentai, Flannery." I told her, looking down from the rooftop.

Flannery sighed & began climbing. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"My dad used to say that it means 'take it easy.' He would tell us that before he went to work. The last time he said that was just before the Ishbalan war." I told her. I was comfortable talking about my parents; I couldn't have gotten better parents than them in my eyes. "He said, 'Momentai, little ones, I'll be back before you know it.'"

"Jump." Aqua called, jumping from one roof to another.

I pointed at the ice blonde. "Why does she do that whenever she jumps?"

Flannery shrugged, "She does the same thing with yo-yos." I held my arm in front of her to make her stop. "What?"

"We're on the PRO's rooftop; get your sister & meet me inside." I jumped down, thinking, 'Tuck & roll.'

"Can I help you young lady?" An elderly man said from behind a desk.

I smiled at him & walked up to the desk. "I'm looking for some records on my family."

"Give me a last name & the type of record you're looking for. I'll see what I can do." He answered, giving me a warm smile.

"The the name is Heights, first name Ulysses. I'm trying to find his wedding record." I told him.

He turned & walked back to the rows of filing cabinets at the back wall. He flipped through the folders until he pulled out a manila envelope. "Here you go young lady, I'll need it back when you're done."

"Thank you." I turned & waited for the twins, who came in a few minutes later. "I got my parents' wedding certificate." I opened the envelope & pulled out the paper. "I just need to get my mom's maiden name & I can ask for birth records under that name. Then I match up the parents & see they're still alive."

"That's a pretty good idea." Flannery told me.

"A long idea," Aqua agreed, "but a good one."

I turned back to the man after slipping the record back into the envelope. "Could I please see the birth records for the name Mustang in the past thirty years?"

The man returned the wedding records & began shuffling through the documents. "I'm sorry; someone took those documents to Central."

My head connected with the wooden desk & I ran my hands messily through my auburn hair. "Oh, that can't be!"

"Little girl, if you want, I can request for someone to send me copies of them. It'll take me a few days." He admitted. I looked up at him.

"Really? You would do that?" I asked in shock.

He slid a pencil & notepad in front of me. "Just right down your name, number, & documents you want & I'll get them as right quick as I can."

"Thank you, sir." I replied, writing down my name & documents. I turned to Flannery, "Uh, I'm staying at your house, so I need you to write down the number."

"Right, I almost forgot." Flannery stepped up & wrote the number down.

"I'll call to place the request right now." The man informed us & picked up the phone at his side. "I'll call you the minute I get them."

"Thank you, sir. Goodbye." I called as I ran out. "Come on."

**Aqua's POV**

Griffon seemed so happy that she was getting those records, but the name still freaked me out. "Hey, Flannery?" I asked.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Do you think daddy is related to Griffon?" I wondered. "The names are way too alike to be a coincidence."

"And we don't believe in coincidences, do we Aquanette?" She reminded me.

I raised my fist in the air. "Hell no, we don't. So what do we do?"

"Uh, library, remember?" Flannery said.

Griffon motioned for us to hurry up. "Come on, before it closes." She yelled.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot for a little bit." I rubbed the back of my head & raced to catch up with Griffon.

While we waited for Griffon to look for whatever she was trying to find, I picked up a stray book. Not normally my thing, but the title sounded interesting: Eating Churros While Playing an Exploding Guitar.

"Let's go, guys." Griffon waved & walked out the door.

Flannery set down the book she had picked up & I tossed mine in my seat. "Any luck?" Flannery asked.

"I found this book on my family's history," She began.

"That's good." Flannery stated.

Griffon began to walk faster. "No, I just got my hopes up. A bunch of pages were torn out." She seemed really upset.

"We're sorry, Griffon, but you'll have those birth records in a few days." Flannery said, trying to comfort her.

"And our parents will let you stay longer if you need to." I told her, she only speed up even more. "What did I say?"

"Griffon, slow down, you'll run into someone." Flannery called, trying to catch up with her. I just followed behind her.

"No, I won't. I know how to get through these streets." Griffon yelled back, turning into an alley way. "I just need to visit someone, okay?"

On the other side of the alley was a hospital that I've never seen before. "Hello, hello. Who are you?" A kinda squeaky voice asked from the wall. "Aren't you pretty girls, you must have a lovely mother & a very handsome father. Is he a state alchemist?"

Flannery & I turned to look at each other, just before the voice's owner stepped out of the shadows. He was ugly & disgusting, with wrinkled skin, long fingernails, a bald head & a…tail? He was a chimera, I was sure of it.

"I want to send him a little message." The chimera said, lunging at Flannery before either of us had a chance to react.

Griffon did react fast enough; she pushed Flannery out of the way as quick as the chimera had struck. Griffon clapped her hands twice, & with a bright flash of light, she had large claws jutting out of her skin. She slammed her hands into the chimera's stomach & twisted her arm, making the sharp nails cut deeper into his skin.

In other words, she saved my sister by using a type of human transmutation.

"How did you do that?" Flannery asked. She stood up & watched as Griffon clapped her hands twice to revert them to normal.

"Un-Uh, Colonel Mustang can't find out about it." She said in reply. "I already know what would happen if the military knew." She grabbed the back of the chimera's shirt & dragged him across the street. She wiped her hands off on the front of her shirt & walked through the doors of the hospital.

"Let's go." I pulled Flannery across the street, keeping our distance from the cringing chimera. We followed Griffon through the hospital until she walked into a room.

We opened the door a little & peaked through the crack. "Hey, Meg." We heard Griffon say sweetly.

"Gigi?" A weak voice asked. There were a couple coughs before she continued. "What are you doing here?"

We moved to see better through the crack. Griffon was sitting in a seat next to a hospital bed. The girl in the bed was very young & pale, with light orange hair & hazel eyes. "I just wanted to come & see you, aren't I allowed to talk to my own sister? You 'n' I are the only ones left now. Freddie's been missing for a few months."

"If you want to ask something, go ahead & ask." The girl interrupted.

Griffon smiled softly. "Megan, our mom's brother, what was his name?"

"Is that all?" Megan asked; Griffon nodded. "It's Roy, if I remember right, it's Uncle Roy."

"Roy." We told each other. That just makes the chances of our daddy being Griffon's uncle even bigger.

"Ahem." A voice cleared his throat behind us. "If you want to listen to them, I really don't mind. I do, however, need to get inside to give the little one her medicine."

"Sorry," We mumbled, moving away from the door.

The boy standing there had blonde hair & green streaks with red-brown eyes. True to his words, he held a prescription bottle & plastic cup filled with water. "Thanks, I won't be long." He swung the door open all the way. "Knock-knock, Meggie. Time for your medicine."

We stuck our heads into the doorway to continue watching. "Who are you?" Griffon wondered.

The boy handed Megan the cup & opened the lid, letting two of the pills slide into his palm before giving them to the girl, too. "I'm Thatch Lesser, a volunteer here at the hospital."

"I'm Griffon Heights, an older sibling of your patient. Don't you just love her?" Griffon told him, ruffling her sister's hair.

"Yeah, she's really sweet." Thatch agreed. "You live here?"

"Nah, & speaking of which, I have to get going. Bye, Meg." Griffon kissed Megan's forehead & headed for the door. "See you around, Thatch."

We ran back to the lobby & waited for Griffon to walk back out. "Let's get home before we worry your parents." We nodded & lead the way back home.


	2. Blah, Blah, Fish Cakes, Blah

**Flannery's POV**

"I swear Aquanette we have the weirdest days" I said quietly as we were walking home behind Griffon.

"I know first the Chimera and now this!" Aqua said quietly.

"You know I can hear you right?" Griffon said turning her head slightly.

"Sorry Griffon" I said as I walked next to her.

"Yea we don't mean anything by it" Aqua said walking on the side of Griffon.

"Yea I guess so" Griffon said with a shrug.

"So it looks like you're our cousin" I said.

"Yea it seems that way" Griffon said.

"It's going to be great! You're going to love being our cousin. We can sit around pop balloons, drink root beer and eat steak lots and lots of it!" Aqua said wrapping her arm around Griffon's shoulders.

"Um...okay?" Griffon said confused

"Don't worry you'll get use to it" I said with a shrug.

"Yea it'll be-" Aqua was cut off by her watch beeping. "Oh hold on." Aqua said  
looking at her wrist watch. "Speaking of steak we're gonna be late for  
dinner!" Aqua said.

"Aqua relax we're like four blocks from the house" I said.

"We'll probably be there in about 15 minutes" Griffon said with a shrug.

"I can't wait that long! C'mon!" Aqua said grabbing our wrist and running full  
speed toward the house. She was running so fast that our feet were hardly  
touching the ground! Why did she have to be so hungry all the time?!

We busted through the door and Aqua let go of our hands.

"I'm here! I'm here! Please tell me you didn't start dinner without me!" Aqua  
said jumping into her seat.

"Of course not Aquanette." Mommy said placing a plate in front of Aqua.

"Thank you! Steak!" Aqua said lifting her fork and knife into the air. It was one of her many favourite meals.

"So girls what took you so long?" Daddy asked.

"Yea when Aqua didn't come home for dinner on time we started to get worried."  
Mommy said placing plates in front of us once we sat down.

"Well," Griffon began. "I went to the PRO to look for a birth record." She paused to take a drink. "But the documents were sent to central, so the man at the desk said he would have some copies transferred back here."

"That's good." Mommy said.

Aqua nodded. "Then she made us go to the library to look for her family tree, but someone tore the pages out."

"And that's bad." Daddy stated.

"Then she went to visit her sister in the hospital." I continued, making sure not to mention the chimera. "We met this really cool volunteer named Thatch. He makes sure Megan, that's Griffon's sister's name, gets her medicine."

Griffon glared at me & my sister. "Do you listen to all of my conversations?"

"Your sister's in the hospital?" Mommy asked.

Griffon took a small bite. "Yes, no one knows what she has, so they just give her a weird cocktail of drugs. At least it seems to make it more endurable."

"You certainly did have an eventful time." Daddy commented.

"That's not even the half of it." Griffon told him. "Did we mention that you're my uncle?" She let out a shriek. Why? Daddy did a spit take & got it all over her.

"Ew." I said, getting up to get a towel for her. "I'll get you a towel."

"Thanks." She picked up her napkin to start drying off.

"That was rude, daddy." I heard Aqua say.

I brought back the towel & Griffon immediately began wiping her face off. "Excuse me?" she asked, standing up.

Mommy nodded. "I think you should get some cleaner clothes on."

Griffon picked up her plate & walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to take my plate to the kitchen; I'm not very hungry."

**Roy's POV**

A niece!?! I can't have a niece! "Is that true?" I asked Riza.

"We'll have to wait for those documents to check her grandparent's names with your parents' names." Riza answered. "Being orphaned doesn't change the names of your birth parents."

"Why aren't you happy?" Aqua asked me. "Griff is a cool girl. You should see some of the stuff she can do."

"It's not that." I told her. "Of course she seems nice, but a niece. I don't see how that could be."

"Colonel?" Griffon asked. She had already changed into some clean clothes.

"Yes?" I asked in reply.

She walked up to me & held out a letter. "My mom wrote this before she died. She told me to give it to her brother."

"That can't be. It looks like it was only written yesterday." I stated. The letter was white & crisp.

Griffon nodded. "I didn't dare touch it."

I opened the letter & read it over:

Dear Roy,

I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I bet you've completely forgotten about me by now. But, I'm getting very sick & the rest of my family is not happy with my leaving East City. They won't help me with my little girls & boy. I need help, Roy, please take them in. Please, Roy, they can't stay out in the streets or in CPS. Do your big sister just this one thing & it will ease my spirit when I die.

Love, Elyon

Riza read the note over my shoulder. "Girls, give us some time to talk?" She asked the twins & Griffon.

The three filed out, but could have sworn I heard Griffon say something along the lines of, 'His not gonna let me stay.'

"Well, she's your niece. You need to be the one who makes the decision." Riza told me.

I groaned. "Let's see how things go. I want her to stay, but I also want her in the best place she can."

"What place could be better than with family?" Riza wondered. "If you ask me, I wouldn't give it a second thought; she would stay as long as she needed."

"Yeah, I bet she wouldn't have given me the note if she weren't sure she wanted to stay." I inquired. "And she gets along with the twins"

"So, it's settled?" asked Riza. "She's staying with us." I nodded.

"Now, let's see. We need a way for her to get a scholarship to Central Academy." I commented.

Riza laughed at what I said. "Let's start with making her comfortable first."

"Right." I agreed, rubbing the back of my head.

**Flannery's POV  
**

We were sitting in my room playing cards when Mommy and Daddy walked in.

"So?" Aqua asked.

"Griffon can stay" Daddy said with a smile.

"Yay!" Aqua and I exclaimed before we hugged our cousin.

"Oh thank you Co- I guess I can call you Uncle Roy now huh" Griffon said.

"Yea I guess so" Daddy said.

"Thank you Uncle Roy" Griffon said smiling.

"No problem" Daddy said.

The next morning we didn't have to go to school but Mommy and Daddy had to go  
with work so they let us come with us. So we decided to give Griffon the low  
down on everything we do.

"Okay Griff pay attention because we're only going to go over this once" Aqua  
said.

"...Okay then" Griffon said confused.

"First of Daddy says we go to school in the Mustang house hold so you're going  
to have to find a way into CA" I said.

"CA?" Griffon asked.

"Yea it's Central Academy it's the best private school in all of Amestris."  
Aqua explained.

"Oh okay then" Griffon said with a shrug. "So what are we going to do first"

"We're going to show the greatness that is Central Headquarters. Let's go meet  
the boys" I said walking into the office. Mommy and Daddy were in a meeting so  
it was Havoc and the others

"Uh hey girls" Havoc said. "Who's the chick"

"Havoc this is our cousin Griffon. Griffon this is Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and  
Falman they work for Daddy." I said.

"They also laze around when my Mother's not here. They're scared of her" Aqua  
said whispered. "You can trust Falman and Fuery they're the good guys. But  
watch out for Breda and Havoc they're evil especially Havoc" Aqua said  
pointing to Havoc.

"You wanna go?" Havoc said standing up.

"Calm down Havoc you know we'll get in trouble for arguing with the twins."  
Breda said pulling Havoc back down.

"You're lucky you got connections girl" Havoc said sitting back down.

"Yea, yea, yea." Aqua said. "C'mon Griffon we got more to see"

We continued down the hallway until Griffon stopped at the Furher's office.

"Hey what's behind this door?" Griffon said.

"Whoa Griffon don't even think about touching that door" Aqua said.

"Why what is it?" Griffon asked.

"That's Furher King Bradley's office" I said.

"Dude's got like mad power he runs the whole country!" Aqua said.

Then the door opened and Furher King Bradley and he secretary walked out. Aqua  
and I quickly bowed Griffon stood still but I pulled her by the hair making  
her bow.

"Ow!" Griffon said

"At ease citizens" The Furher said. We stood up. "Ah Flannery and Aquanette  
Mustang how are you?"

"Fine sir" We both said.

"It seems you have a new friend" The Furher said.

"Furher Bradley this is our cousin Griffon" I said.

"Nice to meet you sir" Griffon said.

"Nice to meet also Griffon if you'll excuse me I have to join my wife for  
lunch." The Furher said walking away.

Once the Furher was gone Aqua and I let out a breath.

"Was that really necessary?" Griffon said.

"Of course!" Aqua said.

"It's the way here Griffon. Soldiers have to salute and civilians have to bow  
that's how we do it. If we don't we could get in trouble for insubordination"  
I explained.

"Well that seems a little wrong" Griffon said.

"Hey I don't like it either but that's how we do things so get use to it. Now  
c'mon we've got more to see" Aqua said.

**Griffon's POV**

"Okay, my brain is crammed with stuff about HQ now. Can we just take a walk or something?" I asked. It gets pretty boring just listening to Havoc & Aqua yell at each other for an hour straight.

Flannery shrugged. "I guess we can. I'll get Aqua, you just meet us outside." I got up & headed out.

Outside, someone's car was smoking, literally pouring out of the hood. The car's owner was leaning over it, coughing & waving the smoke away. I walked over, already patting the tools in my pocket. "Excuse me, sir? Do you need some help?"

"Yes, I can't seem to figure out what the problem is." He replied, but I still couldn't get a good look at him.

I walked over to the driver's side & pulled the keys out. "Let me take a look, I'm pretty good with stuff like this."

The smoke cleared as I stepped up to the engine, it wasn't really that hard to figure out. So, I began explaining it to the man as I worked to fix it. I also told him how to keep it from happening again. "Finally, I really suggest getting your oil changed sometime this week." I slammed the hood down & wiped my hands. "It should work now, give it a go."

I turned to give the keys back to the man. "Thank you, Griffon. I appreciate your helping a stranger."

"Furher Bradley? I am so sorry. With all the smoke, I couldn't tell it was you." I exclaimed, not really knowing how to react.

"It's not a problem, now run along & hang out with your cousins." He instructed. I nodded & began leaving. "Oh, come back here for a moment."

I turned back to him & he handed me ten dollars. "Thank you, Furher Bradley, goodbye." I ran over to the twins, who were waiting at a curb, & let out a breath.

Aqua looked at the car. "Isn't that the Furher's car? And isn't that the Furher?" I nodded, Aqua shook my shoulders. "What did you do?"

"I fixed his car." I told her simply, holding up the ten bucks. "I didn't even ask for anything after I fixed it. I also didn't know it was the Furher."

We headed down the street or a few minutes in silence. Finally, Flannery began talking. "So, Griffon, tell us a little about your brother?"

I stopped short for a second, but quickly started up again to keep them from noticing. "What can I say? He's my brother, his name's Freddie, he's eighteen as of last year, & he's got brown hair & blue eyes. I don't know, when mom died, he took up a job as a lab assistant to support us since all the money in my parents' bank accounts were used to pay for Meg's hospital bills. He really is the sweetest – always putting the safety of others before his own." I think I pretty much could have written a biography with all the info I told the twins.

"He sounds like a nice guy." Flannery agreed.

By this time we had reached a small patch of green. I guess it was supposed to be a park, but barely anyone was there, save for a group of boys. All I could make out from the distance were red hair on one of them, one with black &, I think, a little blue, & the third had blonde & green. I couldn't really make anything else out.

"Hey, the guys are here." Flannery said, turning to her sister. The two waved for me to follow them & ran towards the boys.

The boys all sped up too, only slowing down when they got close. I took my time getting there; I didn't know who they were. When I could finally see those guys well enough, & noticed the blonde was Thatch, so I went to stand by him. Flannery & Aqua talked to the other two boys.

"Well, don't I feel like a fifth wheel." I said, getting a little annoyed. I laughed after saying that. Apparently that's what Thatch thought, too. Why else would he say it at the same time as me?

"Hey, we can always be fifth wheels," He began, linking my arm with his, "together."

I could've sworn I blushed redder than Flannery's hair, & that's _red_.

"Sorry." Flannery told us. "Griff, this is Alex & that's Marth. Guys, this is our cousin, Griffon."

"Hey." Alex greeted. "Are you staying here long?"

I nodded. "I live here now. Well, for now. I still have to get some papers to make it official."

Aqua slapped me in the head. "No, you don't. A stupid paper doesn't have anything to do with it. You're already part of the family & that paper ain't gonna change it."

I slapped her in the back of the head too, only harder. "I just want to be sure."

"You wanna fill us in?" Marth asked.

"We're not completely sure I'm Roy's niece, & I'm getting some records to see if it's true or not before I settle down." I explained, then turning to Thatch. "Is Meg doing okay?"

"Meggie is doing fine. Her condition actually improved after you came to visit." He assured.

Alex asked him, "Are you talking about that little girl you take care of?"

Thatch nodded. "That's Griffon's sister."

"Hey, can we please do something? I'm getting really bored just standing here." I asked, trying to get the subject off of my family.

"Sure." Marth agreed. We all started walking. Where to? I got no clue, but it was better than just standing.

**Riza's POV**

Griffon was really set on having proof of Roy being her uncle before making herself at home here. But when we got this all straightened out, we were going to have Griffon's room fixed up to make her feel comfortable. Then we would work on her scholarship, that she seemed bent on getting.

Okay, today is the day. Griffon just got the call from the Public Records Office saying that the birth records had gotten there this morning. She insisted on leaving to pick them up by herself, so we all sat around the living room waiting for her.

The door opened & she walked in with an envelope in one hand & a small bag on her shoulder. "I'm back, & I got the papers."

She tossed the manila envelope at Roy as her way of telling him to open it for her. He just stared at it for a few minutes. Griffon sighed & pulled it out of his hands.

"Time to face facts." She started looking through them, then laid the first document on the coffee table. "That's my mom's &…this one is Uncle Roy's." She set another next to the first before Flannery picked them up for a comparison.

"Well?" Roy asked.

Griffon patted him on the back. "Relax, Uncle Roy, it's not like we're waiting for the results of a pregnancy test or something." He stiffened & Griffon smirked.

"Griffon, please leave him alone." I told her. "I think he can be stressed out enough without your putting things in his head."

"Sorry Auntie R." She said.

"It's a match!" Aqua yelled from where she sat behind her sister. "She's really daddy's niece!"


	3. A Sexist Father

**Aqua's POV**

My heart jumped for joy with the good news with Griffon staying with us.

"This is going to be so great!" I exclaimed.

"Yea Griffon you can stay in the old guest room" Mommy said.

"Oh! I'll paint it for you! What's your favorite color?" I asked.

"Green I guess" Griffon said with a shrug.

"I'm on it! No one go into the guest room for at least 4 days." I said.

"Why?" Daddy said.

"Because...I will be making art and it cannot be disturbed" I said. I was very serious when it came to my art.

**Flannery's POV**

While Aqua was having her little artsy spazy moment I decided to show Griffon the list of scholarships for CA.

"Okay Griffon there are two ways to get into CA either your parents have a butt load of money or adcademic scholarships. So that's what we did now what are you intrested in?" I asked.

"I like to fix cars" Griffon said with a shrug.

"That's perfect! They have mechanics and engineering scholarship right here" I said pointing to it.

"Sweet so what do I have to do?" Griffon asked.

"It looks like all you have to do is take out an old car engine, examine it and give a five page report on it" I said reading the paper. "That is so not fair! I worked my tail off doing a ten page report on the history of the military do you know how much research that took?!" I said

"Flannery, Flannery calm down" Griffon said patting my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I was having a moment. Do you think you can do it?" I asked.

"Of course cars come naturally to me." Griffon said with a shrug.

"You better know what you're talking about Griff because you know a lot of people don't take well to female mechanics" I said handing the paper to me.

"Oh don't worry about me I can handle myself." Griffon said.

Later that week Aqua was finally done with Griffon's room and she was ready to reveal it.

"Are we all ready?" Aqua asked still in her painting suit with green sploches on it.

"Yes Aquanette" Mommy said."Alright then" Aqua said opening the door. The room was a pale green color with jade green and dark green striped going through it. There was a bed with a pale green comforter on the bed which was in the corner and a home made desk which looks like it was from the store.

"Wow" Griffon said sitting on the bed.

"Nice job on this desk Aquanette" I said putting my hand. "How'd you do it?"

"Lots of nails Flannery lots of nails." Aqua said holding up her bandaged hands.

"Aquanette why didn't you tell us?" Mommy said grabbing one of her hands.

"I had to finish the room" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Looks like another trip to the hospital" Mommy said with sigh

"What?" Aqua said with a pale face.

"Yep she's right c'mon Aquanette" Daddy said throwing Aqua of his shoulder. "We'll see you guys later we'll bring home dinner" As he and Mommy walked out.

"Bye Dad" I said causally.

"No! No! I don't want to go the hospital! I have rights! I am a citizen of Amestris and I have rights! For the love of all that is good someone save me!" Aqua said before I heard the door slam.

"Does that happen a lot around here?" Griffon asked.

"Oh yea she gets hurt like every other week you'll get use to it" I said with a shrug. "Now c'mon let's work on the scholarship"

"So, let's go." Griffon walked towards the door.

"Where?" I asked her. She looked out the window for a minute.

She opened the door. "To get the engine. I know someone who won't mind my taking it."

"Who wouldn't mind if you took their car?" I wondered as I followed wouldn't answer me until we reached on old dirt road that hadn't been used in years.

"You'll see." She ran down the road, with me behind her, until we reached a two story cottage with a busted up old car in front. "This place hasn't been used in years. No one ever comes here anymore."

I didn't like the idea. "Are you sure the owner won't mind?"

Griffon laughed, "I'm sure. Just don't go in the house & we'll be fine."

"We should get back. You can work on it tomorrow." I told her. I don't know how I knew, but something in my head told me that Griffon didn't want to leave just yet. "You can stay for a little while longer, but I'm going to head back."

She nodded, walking back up the path. "It's okay. I don't have to stay, but isn't it peaceful out here? That's why I love it here, nature is just so beautiful."

"So, you've been here before?" I nodded. "I used to come out here before the cottage was built." She snapped her fingers & ran back to the car. I had no clue what she was doing until she started moving the car up the road. "Come on, help me push this thing." She called from behind the car.

"What are you going to do?" I questioned her actions, walking back to join her.

"I don't have the keys, so we're going to push this beauty back to your house." She told me.

I sighed, but started pushing anyway. "Fine, but if mom & dad get mad, then you take the blame since it's your scholarship."

Griffon laughed again, "It's a deal." When we got to the end of the road, Griffon stopped. "Get in the car & steer so that we can get it home."

When we both finally got the car home, we were relieved to see that my parents weren't home yet. We walked in & Griffon plopped down on the couch. "I will never do that again." She shouted at the ceiling.

**Roy's POV**

When we finally got home, there was an old car in front of the house. "What is that doing here?" I asked Riza.

"I think it has to do with Griffon." Aqua answered from the back seat.

"Why do you say that?" Riza wondered, turning around in her seat to look at her.

Aqua called to the front, "A few days ago, she fixed the Furher's car before she even knew whose car it was, didn't even charge him, but he gave her ten bucks anyway."

"Oh." Riza & I said.

We walked in & found Griffon & Flannery in the living room with Griffon stretched out on the floor & Flannery lying on the couch. "Hey, welcome back." Griffon greeted, not lifting her head off the ground.

"Are you hungry?" Riza asked.

"No, what about you Flannery?" Griffon answered, looking up at the other girl.

"A little. Why aren't you? You pushed that car all the way here." Flannery answered, sitting up straight.

"You pushed a car all by yourself?" Riza asked, motioning for us to follow her to the kitchen. "Didn't you get tired?"

"Sure, it would've been easier if Flannery helped, but I needed her to steer. It's not really as hard as many think it is. As long as you are in top physical condition, it isn't hard, & I don't really tire out easily."

I ruffled her hair, which she always seemed to enjoy. "She's strong as an ox, eats like a bird, & is light as a feather." I commented.

"Ain't anyone gonna ask me if I'm hungry?" Aqua asked.

We all looked at her. "You're hungry, Aquanette, you always are."

Aqua rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I swear we have a messed up household. "Oh, we have guests coming over tomorrow." Riza told the girls, handing Flannery & Griffon the plates & silverware.

"Okay, who?" Griffon pondered.

I thought for a minutes before I remembered. "The Lessers, Thomas & Zarah, & their son Thatcher."

At the name of the boy, Griffon fumbled the plate, barely catching it. "That sounds great."

"Thatcher, isn't that the guy who takes care of Meg?" Flannery asked. "You go there every day."

"I like him. He has a good sense of humor & has the medical smarts of a professor." Griffon explained. "And I have to make sure Meg is getting better."

I shook my head, she was gonna fall for him. "Hey, can Alex & Marth come over, too? You know, so Thatch won't be the only guy here." Flannery asked.

"That's fine with me." Riza said as she put the food on the plates. "What do you think, Roy?"

"Well…" I trailed off. I didn't like those boys.

"Roy." Riza scolded.

I sighed, "Yeah, they can come over."

"Thank you." Flannery said & changed the subject. "Griff, do you look more like you mom or your dad?" She asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain." Griffon told her while taking her seat. "See my mom had brown hair & my dad had this crazy bright shade of orange. I got a mix of both: dark orange or auburn. My dad had green-gray eyes & my mom had dark brown. I have honey eyes that look green-gray in certain light. It's a reasonable mix of the two. Freddie looks mainly like mom & Meg looks a lot like my dad."

"I really think your parents would look great if I ever got to see them." Aqua commented.

Griffon stood up & walked out. "I'll be right back." She stated.

We all stared blankly at each other. "What was that all about?" Aqua asked. "Did I offend her?"

"No, I just wanted to get this." Griffon called, reentering the room with a small, thick orange book. "I won't show it to you until you finish eating so that it won't get ruined." She sat down again & began flipping though it.

"Okay. I'm going to put my plate in the kitchen." I said, picking up my plate to put it in the sink.

**Aqua's POV**

Mommy made her special spaghetti which was amazing! It got better everytime! She put these special herbs and spices in it and topped it off with her awesome cheesy garlic bread. I could eat that one single dish for the rest of my life. I had 4 plates and 5 pieces of garlic bread. As I was wiping my face I felt Griffon looking at me.

"Can I help you?" I said looking at her.

"I'm sorry but it just amazes me how much you eat" Griffon said.

"There's nothing wrong with that. My Daddy says it's good to have a hardy appetite." I said with a small smile.

"Yea I guess you have a point there. But where do you find the room for it all?" Griffon asked.

"Couldn't tell you I've always been like this. I've still got my abs and everything" I said lifting up my shirt a little to show off my tiny two pack. I worked out a lot right now I could lift about twice my body weight. "Anyway I'm just using it to it's full potential. Tasting all of the flavors of the world" I said putting my hands behind my head.

"Spoken like a true poet" Griffon said shaking her head.

"Thanks!" I said.

The next afternoon Flannery and Griffon were helping Mommy in the kitchen making food for the guests that were coming over later, Daddy was relaxing in his chair reading a book and I was laying across the couch. I wasn't allowed in the kitchen when Mommy was making food I just would of snuck in bites to eat. So all I could do was wait. I was about to fall asleep when the door bell rang.

"Aquanette get the door please" Daddy said looking up from his book.

"Yes sir" I said standing up. I walked to the door and opened it. It was Mr. and Mrs. Lesser, Thatch, Alex and Marth. I smile came to my face when I saw Marth.

"Hey you" I said with a smile. He gave me a small kiss so my dad wouldn't see. "Mom, Dad the Lessers are here!" I said.

"Why is there an old car out front?" Mrs. Lesser asked as soon as everyone was situated.

"That's mine. I'm using it as part of my scholarship requirements." Griffon answered. "I'm going for one in mechanics."

Mr. Lesser gave her a look. "A girl isn't fit to be a mechanic. They would only whine when something was too hard to figure out, & would complain when it came to getting down & dirty. They should do more simple jobs, like artists & musicians. Even then, they probably wouldn't be able to do anything right."

All of us looked at Griffon. She had talked about how much she wanted that scholarship earlier. She stood up & excused herself, Thatch followed her out without a word, only a glare sent to his father.

**Thatch's POV**

My father went over the edge with that comment. I already asked him to dial down when it came to how he felt about 'women's roles in the society' as he calls it. Why does he have to act like such a sexist? I told him how much I wanted her to think of me as a good person. Having a sexist father doesn't really help that.

Griffon walked up the stairs & slammed one of the doors closed behind her.

"Griffon?" I asked, knocking on the door.

"Go away, Thatch, I don't want to talk to part of a sexist family." I called back.

I winced at her comment. "Come on, do you really think I'm like him?" I called.

She opened the door. "No. But that doesn't mean I'll talk to you, though."

"You do realize that you're talking to me by saying that you don't want to talk to me, right? Just tell me why that bothers you so much." I urged.

She stepped out of the way & pulled out a small red book from a stack on her desk. "Come in, sit down."

I listened to her, sitting down on the bed. "You must really like green." I commented as she sat down next to me.

"Yeah." She said. She flipped the book open & pointed to a couple pictures of a woman working on cars. "My mom was a mechanic. I learned a lot from her, & when my dad was gone, she let me & my brother help. She was an inspiration to me. I want to make her happy by reopening her old shop."

"Really?" I wondered. She nodded, her eyes glittering with what were probably un-shed tears.

"Griffon, are you okay?" Flannery asked, looking in. Aqua wasn't far behind.

"You missed it. Daddy went off on Thatch's dad about how sexist he was acting. He said that he shouldn't undermine females because when he makes a mistake, mommy always fixes it. He also told him that men would be lost without women there to lead them down the right path." Aqua informed. "Then Mr. Lesser's language got 'colourful' & he stormed out the door. He didn't even think about taking his wife with him."

"That sounds like my dad. Look, I'm really sorry, guys, he didn't always act like this, but I think some personal stuff is effecting him." I apologized.

"I think I want to go work on the car." Griffon informed. She stood up & walked out the door.

Flannrey looked at me. "Oh, & the guys wanna talk to you."

I stood up & went down to the living room. Mom was talking to Mrs. Riza & the guys stood out of the way. "What do you want?" I asked.

"Your dad's an ass." Marth stated bluntly. "I thought you talked to him about Griffon."

"Did you see her face when he said that?" Alex asked. "She had this mix of anger & total sadness."

"Yes, I saw her & yes, my dad's an ass. It's just that he isn't a very happy person now a days with the divorce & all."

Alex told me, "That doesn't change anything. You asked him to dial down for a few hours so that you could get closer to Mustang's niece. If he can't even do that, than I say he isn't fit to be a father. You should chose your mom when they separate."

"I can't. My mom's moving to Dublith. I have to stay with my dad if I want to stay here." I explained.

The boys commented, "Harsh."

"Whatever. Where is Griffon?" I asked.

"She walked out the door." Alex said.

"Thanks." I wanted to seem calm until I got outside. Then I could start cussing under my breath. "She probably just needs to get some air."

I walked out the door. Griffon was just a little ways ahead of me, walking slower than usual. "Griffon?" I called to her.

"Hm?" She replied. She just kept walking, so I walked up to her.

"Where are you headed to?" I asked. "Your house is that way, & I can't think of anywhere else you might go." She didn't answer me.

"My house." She finally told me. "My real house."

"Real house? As in, before your parents died." I wondered. She nodded, yet she still wouldn't look at me. "Can I see it?"

"Sure. Just don't tell anyone." Griffon answered. "I don't want a lot of people there."

"Than I'll let you go alone." I started to turn, but she caught my hand.

"No, I want to show you. I trust you to keep it a secret." I told me. I smiled a little & continued walking with a little walk down the street, we turned down an old, unused trail, then walked up to an old cottage & around to the back. "This place is really nice."

"I loved it here." Griffon told me. "Come on."

We walked in & up to her old room. "My mom was in love with this place. She wouldn't leave this place except whenever we needed something or to get to the shop."

We sat in there & talked about our families for a long time, until we finally looked at the time. "We need to get back to your house." I told her.

"Yeah."Griffon agreed. "Thanks, Thatch, I feel a lot better now."

"No problem."

**Riza's POV**

"Where have you been?" I asked angrily almost as soon as Griffon opened the door. "You have been gone for hours."

"Sorry Auntie R." Griffon told me. "I just wanted to cool down. Mr. Lesser's comment really hurt my feelings. Mechanics run in the family, of course I'm going to get mad & leave if it's talked about rudely."

I sighed. "Alright. I guess I can let you off the hook just this once." I told her. She & Thatch walked past me. As I turned to follow them, I noticed something. They were holding hands.

Part of me thought it was a perfect match, even if they had only known each other for a few weeks. The other part yelled, "Roy is going to blow his top!" as loud as it could inside my head.

"Oh, & you two are covered in dust." I commented, noticing their dusty clothes.

The two kids looked over each other & laughed. "Sorry." They said together.

After brushing themselves off, the two joined the rest of the family, plus Alex & Marth, in the dining room. "Your mother left a little while ago. Something about an emergency at work."

"I understand. Is it okay if I stay here until I need to be at the hospital." Thatch asked, the question directed at me.

"Of course." I answered.

Roy frowned, so I shot him a glare.

Later, the boys left to go their own ways. Roy refused to let Griffon go to the hospital with Thatch. Instead, the two went out to move the car out back.

**Roy's POV**

"How are you going to prove that you actually did all this by yourself?" I asked, wiping my hands off.

"I can't. I just need to trust that they'll trust me." Griffon confessed.

"What are you really planning?" I wondered seriously.

Griffon slumped her shoulders & sighed. "I'm not going to let them know that I'm a girl until after I get the scholarship, if I get it. I'll stuff my hair in a hat & borrow some clothes from one of the guys."

"You figured that out all on your own?" I asked. How could such a sweet girl come up with something like that to fool everyone?

She shrugged. "I like making things. Be it metal, wood, a puzzle, or a plan. Especially if it's a plan."

I ruffled her hair. "Get to work, okay. You'll want to get some work done before it gets dark, don't you?"

"Yeah. I just have to get my tools from my room." She rushed in through the back door. "Be right back."

I went back in to sit down & finish my book. "My family is really strange." I said to myself with a sigh.

"Don't talk to yourself, it'll make you go crazy." Aqua & Flannery called as they walked past the doorway.

I sighed again & shook my head. Then I focused on my book & tried to ignore Griffon when I saw her slide down the banister with her toolbox from the corner of my eye.


	4. Dates and Dads

**Flannery's POV**

I was totally against Griffon dressing up like a boy just to get a mechanics scholarship. It's sexist and stupid and I'm not going sit around and take it and neither should Griffon. I set up a special meeting with the board of the scholarship. I was going to represent Griffon's case and all the girls' case so that girls could qualify for a mechanic scholarship in the Central Academy school system

I walked into Griffon's room where she was sleeping peacefully before I began to shake to shake her.

"Griffon wake up." I said as I shook her.

"Flannery please I'm sleeping" Griffon said putting a pillow over her head.

"C'mon we have to get dressed. Alex and Thatch are going to come to pick us up soon" I said. That made her sit up.

"Thatch is coming?" Griffon asked.

"Yea he wanted to support you on this day so he came along with Alex" I said with a shrug.

"I'll get dressed" Griffon said shooting out of bed. I shook my head as she started to look through her closet. She pulled out a green blazer jacket and ran into the bathroom.

"Try to look presentable" I called out to her/

"I got it" Griffon said with her mouthful because she had her toothbrush in her mouth. I shook my head again this was going to be a long day.

I walked downstairs and no one was there. I walked into the kitchen and they weren't there either.

"Where are they?" I said to myself. I noticed a little note on the fridge. I pulled it off and read it aloud. "Dear Flannery and Griffon, Aquanette had an allergic reaction to a new brand of bacon and we have taken her to the hospital. Good luck at your meeting we'll be home later. Love Mommy and Daddy" Griffon walked downstairs wearing a dark green blazer with a matching skirt that I made her. It was the exact same thing but mine was dark red and I had to wear my glasses.

"Hey where's Uncle Roy and Auntie R? Did Aquanette go to the hospital again?" Griffon asked.

"She had an allergic reaction to something she was eating" I said with a shrug.

"I can't say that surprises me" Griffon said.

"Yea I know" I said. We heard a car horn outside. "That's Alex and Thatch" I said with a smile.

"Okay how do I look?" Griffon said running her fingers through her hair.

"You look fine Griff" I said. It was really amusing watching Griffon freak out like this. It kind of reminded me when I first started dating Alexander it was kind of funny.

We arrived at the board of education. Alex and Thatch waited outside while we had our meeting. We walked inside of the main board room & sat down.

"Ah Ms. Mustang we understand that you have something very important to tell us" Mr. Long said. He was the head of the school board.

"Yes Mr. Long. This is my cousin Griffon she wants to apply to for your mechanics and engineering scholarship but you seem to only offer them to male students" I said.

"That is correct you don't see a lot females doing jobs like mechanics" Mr. Long said.

"That may be true but women are doing equal jobs as men every day. Do you remember what my mother does?" I asked.

"No I don't believe I remember" Mr. Long said rubbing his chin.

"She's the best sniper in the country and she's a bodyguard. If a woman can handle a gun then why can't she hold a wrench or some other mechanic tool?" I said with a shrug/

"You make a very good point Ms. Mustang. I'll make you a deal. If Griffon's scholarship requirements meet the engineering departments then we will change the rule but if she fails the rule stays" Mr. Long say.

"But hey no pressure" Griffon said before I elbowed her. "Ow!"

"She can do it" I said.

"Good" Mr. Long said.

"Wait." Griffon interjected. "I just want to say one thing."

"Go ahead." Mr. Long told her.

"If my mother could run one of the most popular auto-repair shops in Amestris without a scholarship, then I think I've learned enough to exceed your requirements."

Mr. Long looked shocked for a few seconds. "What repair shop would that be?"

"Moore Mechanics." Griffon answered.

Mr. Long scoffed, "That place was run to the ground due to poor service."

Griffon let a low growl escape her throat. "The only reason that shop closed was because the owner died from a very rare & serious disease. Maybe you should get your facts straight."

"This meeting is over, the offer still stands." Mr. Long said.

Griffon & I stood up & left. "Why did you say that?" I asked her. "You probably just jeopardized the whole thing."

"Yeah, so I got a smart mouth. A person's attitude doesn't effect their skills & it shouldn't influence a person's decision extremely." She told me.

"How did it go?" Alex asked as the boys came up.

"My smart ass mouth probably just ruined my chances." Griffon whined.

"Wait, what you said could probably help us." I stated, snapping my fingers.

Thatch looked from me to her & back. "Care to explain?" he asked.

Griffon looked at me, too. "I don't get it either. Flannery, what are you talking about?"

"You said that you had enough experience to exceed the board's expectations. If you can prove that to them, than they'll probably have to accept your application." I explained.

Griffon smiled & hugged me. "Flannery, you're a genius! I need to get home right now so I can start. I'll get it done in half the average time & give a detailed report."

"That's gonna take a lot of work." Alex commented.

"I don't think she heard you." Thatch told him. "She's gone into her own little world."

"Let's get home before she gets stuck that way." I told them.

**Griffon's POV**

I ran up the stairs as soon as I got home. "I'm starting right now." I yelled back down. After changing into an old shirt & pair of jeans. You don't need fancy tools or clothes to have skill. My mom never worked on a car in anything more or less than jeans & a shirt, so I'll stick to my mom's tradition.

I worked until Uncle Roy had to, literally, drag me away. He said something along the lines of, "Even mechanics need to eat."

I complained, "Just let me work a little bit longer."

"No, you've done enough." Auntie R told me.

Flannery asked, "How far did you get?"

I smiled & answered. "One third of the way finished."

"How do you get so much done in so little time?" Aqua pondered.

"Hard work, determination, & trusting in yourself." I told her. "That's what my mom said."

"I don't see how you can like cars so much." Flannery commented.

I shrugged. "Grease is my favourite perfume. Beside, I'm bent on proving those sexist jerks wrong." I balled my hand into a fist & slammed it into my other hand.

Flannery rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything. After I finished eating, I went back out to the car. It was wasting time to have to leave the car just to get a different tool. I could move so much faster if I just had a third hand.

"Griffon, you have a guest." Auntie R called out the door.

"Tell them to come out here. I'm busy with the car." I yelled back. I grabbed a tool & stared working again.

Thatch walked out & over to the car. "Hey, G."

"Hey, T." I replied. I let out a frustrated groan & held out a hand. "Hand me the impact driver?"

"Here." He said, putting it in my hand.

I looked up. He was a med geek, not a gear head. "Thanks. Why are you here?"

"I had to work earlier than usual, so I got off earlier. My mom will be in surgery in a few minutes, I thought I'd stop by on my way home since I would be walking past here anyway." He explained.

'Oh, okay." I replied. I liked it that he stopped here when he could've gone to Alex's or Marth's.

"So Griff I was thinking…" Thatch said trailing off.

"What is it?" I asked confused. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Flannery leaning against the doorframe.

"Well I have a couple days off from the hospital so I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime?" Thatch said with a blush and a shrug.

"Really?" I said shocked. I saw Flannery in the corner of my eye mouthing something along the lines 'You better say yes' I slightly shook no but I don't think Thatch noticed. 'You better!' Flannery said pointing her finger at me. She gave her hair a flip and a smile telling me what to do. 'It can't hurt!' Flannery said again.

"I'd really love to" I said with a smile while flipping my hair.

"Great! I'll call you tonight we can go out tomorrow. I'll see you later Griff" He said kissing the cheek that didn't have motor oil on it before walking off.

"Bye" I said blushing. As soon as Thatch waas down the street Flannery walked out and stood next to me. "Why did you make me do that?! I feel stupid!" I said lightly hitting her shoulder.

"Oh c'mon Griff you've got it bad you like him it can't hurt to go on one date with him if you like him so much" Flannery said with a shrug.

…I hate when she's right. "I guess you have a point there but I'm awfully busy" I said.

"No your not. You could get another two hours and then you would be done" Flannery said.

"…You've been watching me haven't you?" I said shocked.

"From time to time. I'm just making sure you're living up to your name" Flannery said with a shrug.

"Fine if it'll make you happy I'll go on this little date. I could use a little time off anyway" I said closing the hood.

"Okay then go find something pretty to wear and then we'll do your make up" Flannery said.

"But the date isn't until tomorrow" I said

"I know but it neve hurts to be prepared" Flannery said with a smile.

…this girl was going to be the death of me….I though shaking my head.

"Go on. I'll take care of your tools, okay?" Flannery instructed, motioning to the door.

I nodded & left to go upstairs.

**Flannery's POV**

I started putting Griffon's tools back in the toolbox. On the top was the logo for her mother's old shop. It was cool that she had that from when her parents were still alive.

I knew one thing, Griffon was usually so calm & collected. One boy changes her in the blink of an eye. Oh, well, at least he likes her back. Imagine how bad it would be if he didn't like her.

"Hey, Flannery? I got an outfit I need you to double check to make sure it looks good." Griffon said from the door.

I grabbed the toolbox & headed up to her room. She had laid out a green fitted-tee, brown vest, bell-bottom jeans, & brown ankle-boots. I had to admit it, it was a pretty good outfit. I nodded in approval. "It's great."

"Thanks, Flannery. I really want to look good." Griffon told me.

"Okay, let's work on your hair & makeup." I told her. We went over to my room to start working on it.

I worked for about an hour on Griffon's hair & makeup, 'cause she said she wanted to look really good. "Well, here we have it." I said when I was finished.

I had curled her hair & would put it up in a high ponytail later. I put green eye shadow & mocha lip gloss on her to go with her outfit. She seemed pretty happy with the results.

Griffon slid down the banister as soon as the phone rang. I went down after her & picked up the other phone to listen in. "Hello? Mustang residents." Griffon told the person on the other line.

"Hey, G. I told you I'd call." It was Thatch.

"Oh, yeah, you did." Griffon said. "How'd your mom do in surgery?"

"Great. She got a little nervous when the patient had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, but she still managed to get the job done." Thatch answered.

Griffon told him, "That's great."

Thatch chuckled, "Yep. You want to know the when & where for our date?"

"Yeah, lay it on me." Griffon answered.

A thought ran through my head, He had better not meet her there.

"Well, I was think I could pick you up at your house around two, we could grab some food at the diner, & take a walk down the nature trail in the park." Thatch explained.

"Sounds great. I love the nature trail." Griffon told him with a little laugh.

Thatch replied, "I thought you did. You wanna visit the cottage while were in the neighborhood?"

Griffon laughed again, "Of course. I'd love to."

The door on his side of the line slammed closed. "I gotta go now. Dad's home." Thatch said quietly. "Bye, G."

"Bye, T." Griffon said. The line went dead.

"Were you spying on Griffon?" A voice said behind me. I turned to face my dad.

"Maybe…" I answered softly.

Daddy gave me a look. "Why?"

I looked down. "She was talking to Thatch."

He thought it over. "If you tell me what they said, than I'll let you off the hook."

"Nothing, just discussing their date tomorrow." I replied with a shrug.

He walked off without another word. I'm sure I did something wrong. Ah, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

The next day, Griffon was a nervous wreck by noon. I had to fix her makeup again at one. Oh, & Aqua slapped her across the face at one thirty. Griffon actually thanked her for it, even though her cheek was red for the next twenty minutes.

I was so thankful when the doorbell rang & it was time for Griffon to get her date over with.

**Thatch's POV**

I was a wreck when I made it to the Mustang's house. I would have been fine if I hadn't had bruises on my arm & sides that hurt to the high heavens. I'm just thankful I didn't have a shiner.

Colonel Mustang opened the door. "Hello, sir." I said.

He glared at me & shut the door. Yikes, he must've found out about the date.

Aqua opened the door next. "Hey, Thatch." She looked at the bruise. "I'll get Griffon…& the first-aid kit."

It was a secret I shared with my friends only. Mr. & Mrs. Mustang believed the stories that the twins told about Aqua getting hurt to explain their constant need to refill the first-aid kit. Which is why I ended up going to their house about once a week, twice if he gets drunk. Forget the first part, my dad always gets drunk, I always go to the Mustang's twice a week. The twins don't mind a bit, but I hadn't had the guts to tell Griffon yet.

When we got upstairs, Flannery & Griffon came out to help. I almost forgot about the pain when I saw G, she looked amazing. Flannery pulled out the small box that I needed. "Where is it this time?" she asked.

"Arm, ribs, & back." I told her. I really didn't want to go through this, the scars from last week were still there. It might worry Griffon.

Aqua dabbed the bruise on my arm with anti-bacterial cream, which made me flinch. "You know the drill. Shirt off so we can see what you need."

"Can't we do this after our date?" I asked.

Flannery pushed Griffon forward. "Fine, but as soon as you get back, we're having a talk."

I sighed & took Griffon's hand with my good arm. "Let's go, G. I'll fill you in on the way."

Griffon looked at me after walking past my apartment. "Tell me what's been going on." She urged.

"Just trouble at home." I said, looking down.

Griffon scowled, getting the point of what I wanted to say exactly. "Abusive father, that's gonna land you in the very place you volunteer. Why don't you stay with your mom? I heard she moved in with your aunt a few days ago."

"My mom's going to Dublith as soon as their divorce is final." I explained.

"Then go with her." Griffon instructed. "You'll be safer."

"Let's talk about it later & just enjoy the day, alright?" I asked, lifting my arm to point at the sun.

Griffon nodded & smiled softly. "Alright."

Things at the diner were great, we spent our time making fun of the other couples in the booths while we sat at the counter. We made one girl so mad when we got French fries in her hair. On the nature trail, we started talking about Griffon's parents again.

"So, why did your mom name her shop 'Moore Mechanics' when her name was Heights?" I asked.

Griffon chuckled, "Good question. Her maiden name was Moore. She met dad after she opened shop."

"How did they meet?"

"My dad asked my mom to help him build his dream car. Completely custom." Griffon told me. "They worked on it for three years, they became great friends, dated, & he eventually popped the question."

I suddenly wanted to know more about them. "How'd he do it?"

"It was really sweet." Griffon sighed. "He took a bolt off of the car she was working on & replaced it with the ring. Later, he asked her to take a took at it the area, said he thought it was a little faulty. When she found it, she practically fainted."

"That is sweet." I agreed.

"Let's just take the wooded trail back to the house & fix you up." Griffon suggested. "It's way longer than the usual way, & it's much more relaxing."

"I don't get you sometimes, G." I told her. "You love cars, yet spend lots of time away from them in the woods. You have a new house, but still go back to your old one. Oh, & you're the only girl I know who can walk for twenty minutes at a time in boots & not complain."

Griffon laughed, "I like standing out of the crowd & being different. I can't stand it when people understand me or my ways."

"Yeah, that makes sense." I said in a sarcastic voice.

When we got back it was the same thing as it was the same as before - lots of anti-bacterial cream & gauze & ice. This time, though, one thing was different.

"Thatch, we've been talking about this for a long time, us & the guys, & we think it's time to turn your dad in." Flannery stated casually.

"You can always stay with your aunt, or you can move to Dublith with your mom." Aqua commented.

"It's your dad, so it's your choice." Flannery informed. "But, until you make a decision, we're not letting you go back there just so that you can have that beast you call a father beat you to a bloody pulp like he did last month."

I turned my head to look at Griffon, a little surprised she hadn't said anything. She nodded softly. I looked past her & stiffened. "I think you guys just turned him in for me."

Flannery, Aqua & Griffon looked at me like I was crazy. "Look behind you." Colonel Mustang instructed from behind his niece.

The three jumped at his voice, turning to face him & his wife. "Hey." they called softly.

"How long has this been going on?" Col. Mustang asked, crossing his arms.

"And why didn't you tell anyone?" Lieut. Hawkeye wondered, more concerned than angry.

"A while." I answered, a little shaky in front of the two. "I just listened to what he told me what & what not to do. One of those 'not to do's being to turn him in. The girls found out all by themselves."

"This is very serious." Lieut. Hawkeye said sternly. "Do you realize how badly you could've been hurt? You could be in the hospital or worse."

I knew it could happen, mom told me before she left. It wasn't like it was only me that dad let his anger out on. "I understand that."

"We do a good job fixing him up though." Aqua pointed to a cut on my stomach that I had gotten a few hours ago. "This thing needs stitches, so he kinda does belong in the hospital. His dad got him with a broken beer bottle."

"Aqua, shut up about it." I snapped.

Col. Mustang pointed out the doorway. "Get in the car, you're going to the hospital. When you're taken care of, you're going to fill out a incident report."

I followed him out & sighed. Dad was gonna kill me when I didn't beat him home. I seriously don't take that term as lightly as most kids do, 'cause I knew my dad wasn't lying when he said it.


	5. Complication

**Riza's POV**

We all loaded into the car and took Thatch to the hospital Roy, Aqua and I went up to the reception desk while Griffon and Flannery sat with Thatch.

"Hey Gladys!" Aqua greeted to the receptionist.

"Well this is a big surprise. Alright kid stick out your tongue" Gladys said pulling out a tongue depresser. Aqua stuck out her tongue and Ms. Micheals put the tongue depresser on her tongue. "Your tongue is still the right color and your throat seems fine"

"Actually Ms. Micheals Aquanette is not the reason we're here" I said.

"You don't say. I'm sorry Mrs. Mustang but doctor's orders. You understand right?" Gladys said still giving Aqua a quick examination. "Okay your skin seems to be the right shade, eyes aren't dilated, all your hair is still in place. Okay you're good." Ms. Micheals

"Thank you!" Aqua said before running off.

"Okay so what is your emergency?" Ms. Micheals siad picking up a clipboard.

"We've got a parental abuse problem we'd like to get that young boy over there a quick examination" I said pointing to Thatch.

"Of course let me just page the doctor" Ms. Micheals said picking the phone and dialing a number. "Doctor Stevens the Mustang's are here. No it's not for Aquanette they have a young boy that is in need for an examination. Okay thank you" Ms. Micheals said hanging up the phone. "The Doctor will see you now" Ms. Micheals said.

"Thank you." I told her. "While I'm here, do you know where Dr. Lesser is at the moment?"

"She's in surgery right now." Ms. Micheals informed. "Her schedule has been packed ever since she was offered that promotion in Dublith. She's moving next month when her divorce is final."

"Okay, what room do we need to go to?" I asked.

"Room 105." Ms. Micheals said.

I nodded & went to go get Thatch, telling Griffon & Flannery to keep Aqua from eating too much hospital food. On the way there, the doctor met up with us & walked with us the rest of the way.

"Well, young man, what is it that you need me to look at?" Dr. Stevens asked Thatch.

"All over." Thatch told him. "It's all over."

Dr. Stevens nodded. "Alright, let's start with your abdomen."

Thatch took off his shirt again, revealing the cuts & bruised on his chest. "There's more on my back." He confessed.

Dr. Stevens looked at me. "Is this the first time you've seen any of this?"

"Yes, he's not my child, so I don't know what goes on at his house. My daughters have known & have been trying to treat him themselves." I explained.

"Well, I see three cuts that will need stitches. Turn around." He informed. "Make that four cuts."

"Dr. Stevens, are you going to have to take x-rays?" Thatch asked.

"Let's take a look at your legs first." He rolled up Thatch's pant legs. His legs were covered in burns & more cuts & scrapes. His left ankle was swollen. "Burns, cuts & a possible sprained ankle."

"So you will have to take x-rays?" Thatch asked again.

Dr. Stevens answered, "Yes. Not only for your ankle but also to see if you have suffered any internal damage. Let's go down to get you fixed up for the procedures. Mrs. Mustang, I suggest you inform this boy's parents."

"His mother is performing surgery." I told him. "Dr. Lesser?"

"Oh, this is Zarah's kid?" He looked at Thatch. "I've never met him. I heard her husband was abusive, but I never saw any proof until now. Go on back to the waiting room & I'll inform you when the x-rays are finished."

I nodded & went back to the waiting room & sat next to Roy. "Will he be okay?"

"Four cuts need stitches, & he may have a sprained ankle. He's getting x-rays to see if he has any internal damage." I told him.

When Flannery & Aqua came back from the cafeteria, I was told that Griffon went to see her sister & they gave me the room number to go see for myself.

"Griffon?" I asked, knocking on the door.

Griffon opened the door. "Hey Auntie R. This is Megan, come on in & meet her." She pulled me inside to meet a little girl who looked a lot like Griffon, only with lighter hair & different eye colour.

"Hello, who are you?" the little girl asked me.

"My name is Riza. I'm your aunt." I answered.

"How's Thatch gonna be?" Griffon asked from the opposite side of Megan's bed.

I looked up from the little girl. "He'll be fine. He's getting x-rays & stitches."

Griffon nodded. "Okay. You're sure he'll be fine?"

"Yes, just relax." I instructed.

"What's wrong with Thatch?" Megan asked, sitting up in her bed. "What did he do?"

"Nothing Meg." Griffon answered. "He's just got a few boo-boos."

Megan nodded, but I could tell she was still nervous.

"I'm going to check on the twins." I told Griffon. "Goodbye, Megan, it was nice meeting you."

Outside I met up with Dr. Stevens again & asked about Thatch. "He's getting the x-rays done as we speak. His mother took him off my hands for the moment to take care of another patient. Do you need anything?"

"Actually, I was wondering about Megan Heights. What condition does she have?" I asked, looking back at the room.

"Ah, the young girl under Dr. Lesser's care? She has a mystery disease. No one can figure out what she has, but the drugs we've been giving her have been working. Her condition has improved slightly now that her sister has been visiting" He explained.

"Thank you. Goodbye." I said & walked away.

**Thatch's POV**

Three hours of procedures later, I really hated hospitals. More than I had before. I had a broken rib, sprained ankle, & 32 stitches, 8 for each cut. Boy, am I lucky? Note: Sarcasm. Well, at least my mother was the one to do it instead of someone I didn't know. Well, I'm not allowed to have visitors until tomorrow, so I can kiss my chances of getting out of here goodbye.

"Great, I'm in the one place I hate." I said to myself. I love the hospital, but the hospital bed…not so much. "I can't even walk around."

The door opened just a little bit & someone slipped inside, muttering, "The nurses & Uncle Roy will kill me for this."

I sat up in the bed. "G, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I'm not supposed to have visitors."

"Well, I have to check up on you." Griffon told me in an innocent tone. "Besides, I have to officially end our date."

"You have to what?" I asked her.

She walked over & sat on the side of the bed. "The date isn't officially over until I do this." She kissed me directly on the lips, then stood up & walked to the door. "Mom's rule." She winked & waved goodbye before slipping back out.

"What just happened?" I pondered aloud. After figuring out that I wouldn't have an answer until I got visit from one of my friends, I just gave up & flipped on the T.V.

The next morning, the first person to come in my room…was a nurse. Duh! The twins & Griffon came next. Flannery had me fill out an incident report for Col. Mustang so he could arrest my dad. Griffon took Aqua to visit the cafeteria after a while, so I just talked to Flannery.

"Do you know where Griffon ran off to last night?" Flannery asked. "She walked off as soon as one of the nurses said you couldn't have any visitors."

"She snuck in here." I told her.

Flannery smiled smugly. "What did you guys do?"

I replied softly, "We kissed."

Flannery put a hand to her ear & leaned forward. "What'd you say? I can't hear you." She claimed in a sing-song tone.

"We kissed, Flannery. Are you happy?" I said loudly.

"Very." She stated, standing up & walking off.

I slapped my forehead. "You're going to go tell Aqua, aren't you?" I asked her.

"You know it!" Flannery called back as she walked out.

I hung my head. "I'm doomed."

**Flannery's POV**

I knew this going to happen sooner or later I am a love physic after all. I saw it in a vision once and I tried to tell my dad but he didn't believe me becasue everything was explained through science and no one could predict the future. I was so going to prove him wrong one day.

I found Aqua sitting down in the lobby digging her way through the early bird special. "Hey sis" Aqua said

"Hey. I know something you doing know" I said in a sing song tone.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell ME!" Aqua said

"Griffon snuck into the hospital last night and kissed Thatch" I said.

"No way! I have so got some new ammo for her!" Aqua said with a smirk

"Hey guys" Griffon said looking down at the magazine she was reading.

"What's up Mrs. Lesser" Aqua said putting her foot on top of her other knee

"Excuse me?" Griffon said snapping her head up.

"Yea I heard poor ol Thatch passes out last night you came in and saved him with some lip to lip contact bought that boy right back to life" Aqua said with a smirk.

"Th-Th-That's not funny Aquanette!" Griffon said with a blush

"Whoa calm down blushy" Aqua said before we both busted out laughing.

"You know what you guys are so mean!" Griffon said. "I'm going to talk to Thatch at least he'll be nice to me!" Griffon said storming down the hall.

"Good one kid" I said knocking knuckles with her.

"I try" Aqua said with a shrug.

Sure, it was kinda mean, but it was also funny. "She's mad." I said.

"She'll get over it." Aqua stated. "She ain't one to hold a grudge."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. She wasn't really mad when you dented her toolbox." I agreed.

"Or when you lost those engine parts." Aqua added.

"Why are we still here & not trying to listen in on their little talk?" I asked suddenly, remembering Griffon was going to see Thatch.

Aqua stared at me. "Good question, let's go."

When we got to his room, the two were just sitting there for a second. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Thatch said finally.

Griffon waved a hand. "Don't worry. I can't help but think that way sometimes as well, but he isn't like that."

"He ran off on you." Thatch stated. "How can you still love him if he wouldn't even stay with you?"

"I can't help it." Griffon told him calmly. "I love him for who I know him to be, not who others think of him as."

"She loves him? Whose 'he?'" We asked each other.

"I still think he's a low-down two-bit-" Thatch began.

"Hold it right there!" Griffon interrupted. "Don't talk about my brother that way, I still love him even if he did leave me."

"Ooh." Aqua & I whispered.

"I'm really sorry." Thatch said again.

Griffon sighed. "It's alright. Just, please, don't talk about him in that way."

Thatch stuttered a little. "A-A-Alright."

"Good." Griffon stood up & looked at the clock. "Flannery, Aquanette, get in here. I know you're out there."

We froze. "How did she know that?" we asked, stepping into the doorway.

"We have to go, now!" Griffon snapped. She pointed at the clock abruptly. "It's almost time for our meeting. I have to get that report to Mr. Long today or it's no deal."

"Ah, you're right." I gasped. "But we don't have any appropriate clothes."

"I have a feeling Griffon had this planned out. Just in case." Thatch guessed.

Griffon nodded & grabbed her purse. She rushed into the bathroom, when she came out, she was wearing the same green blazer & skirt as before. She tossed me the red outfit. "Get dressed. Meet me down there. Aqua, get the incident report to Uncle Roy."

"Uh, alright then." I headed for the bathroom & peeked through a crack in the door.

Griffon gave Thatch a kiss on the cheek & ran out of my point of view. "Bye guys. Oh, Flannery? Quit watching us & get dressed."

I gasped a little. "How does she do that?"

**Griffon's POV**

I had to run all the way to the Board of Education. By the time I got there, I was panting heavily. I know that I shouldn't run, 'cause of my weak legs, but I had to get there on time. I reached into my purse & pulled out a thick binder. I smiled at how many things I could stuff into my small, little purse.

"I'm here." I gasped as I went into the main board room. "Sorry I'm late."

"Why _are_ you late?" Mr. Long asked, resting his chin in his hand.

I placed the binder on the table. "I'm terribly sorry. I was visiting a friend in the hospital."

Mr. Long's eyes opened a little wider, but he casually continued the discussion. "Well, you weren't too late, so I will dismiss it." He informed, reaching for the binder, which I slid closer to his side of the table. "Now, let's see what you've got written down for your report."

"I'm sorry that it wasn't five pages." I apologized. "I just always feel the need to give a good, detailed description."

"I'll read it over, & see how you did. You'll have your answer by the end of the week. Is that good?" Mr. Long asked as he flipped it open.

"Yes sir, that would be wonderful." I answered.

Mr. Long nodded. "You are dismissed. I'll see you at the end of the week."

**Aqua's POV**

It was the weekend which meant I was the dance studio practicing ballet. I know I didn't seem like the girl that did ballet but it was one of my greatest passions. I always compared my alchemy to ballet. Lunar alchemy took knowledge, focus, passion, concentration and lots of practice just like ballet. When I was little my family and I went these dances for my father's company and sometimes they would father/daughter dances and my daddy would always dance with Flannery just because she was technically older than me. I felt so alone so my mother and I took classes together.

I had changed out of my tights and into my regular clothes and was packing up my sweats when my dad walked in. He always came to pick me up which made me happy.

"Aquanette are you ready to go?" Daddy asked

"Yep" I said picking up my bag. We got into the car and made our way home.

"So how was it?" Daddy asked

"It was good I guess same old same old" I said with a shrug. "What're Flannery and Griffon doing?"

"They're pacing around the house waiting for Mr. Long to call" Daddy said. About 15 minutes later we pulled into the driveway, we walked into the house and Griffon was leaning up against the wall and Flannery was tapping her foot in the air.

"You guys okay" I asked putting my bag down.

"We're just waiting" Flannery said still staring at the wall. "Aqua do you think you can work your magic some?" Flannery asked

"Aqua had magic?" Griffon said.

"Yes! And it's very effective!" I said putting my hands on my hips. "Watch give me the extension number" I said picking up the phone.

"7239" Flannery said

I dialed the school number and the extension number. "Mr. Long please" I said. The secretary told me to hold on I was then connected to Mr. Long

"Mr. Long" Mr. Long said.

"Hello Mr. Long This is Aquanette Mustang" I said

"The art major?" Mr. Long said

"The art major" I confirmed "Listen I want know if my cousin Griffon Heights got into CA yet?" I asked

"I was going to call Ms. Heights later this evening" Mr. Long said

"Well you're on the phone now so why don't you just tell me" I said

"That is between myself and Ms. Heights Aquanette" Mr. Long said

"Well Griffon is right here I can get her for you" I said with a shrug.

"I was planning to call her this evening Aquanette" He said again

"Look Mr. dude you and I can go back forth we can say the same words over and over again I can go all day Mr. Long but the question is can you? I'm 16 and you're about half a century older than me. How long can you go? Now do you want to keep going back and forth or do you want to tell me if Griffon got in or not?" I said

"...Ms. Heights got in. She needs to come down to regerstration to sign up for her classes on Monday with a guardian. Now please I must get back to work" Mr. Long said

"Peace" I said hanging up quickly

"So?" Griffon said standing up

"Oh yea you got in. You have to go to the school on Monday to sign up for classes or something like that" I said with a shrug. Then out of nowhere Griffon and Flannery started freaking out and jumping and screaming everywhere. "Uh I can't take this. Dad can I borrow your bed?" I asked. There were times when Flannery and I didn't feel like sleeping in our beds so Mommy and Daddy let us sleep on their bed.

"Sure just be down for dinner" Daddy said

"Yes sir" I said. I started to climb the stairs but Griffon stopped me and gave me a hug...It burned

"Thank you so much Aquanette" Griffon said hugging my back "You're the best"

"You're welcoming and don't get use to this" I said

"Understood" Griffon said breaking away.

"And that whole hug thing could you give me warning or something?" I asked

"Oh yea sorry I guess I got excited" Griffon said"Yea whatever" I said with a shrug

**Griffon's POV**

I'm really happy. Really really happy! "This is great. So amazingly awesome."

"Calm down, okay. Take a breath." Uncle Roy instructed, patting my back.

It was true I needed to calm down, since I was close to hyperventilating. "Sorry, I'm good now."

"Well, we're very happy for you." Auntie R stated. "You should be very proud of yourself."

"I am a little proud of getting into the school, but it's even greater that, since I got accepted, they have to lift the rule about girls not being able to try & be accepted into mechanics class." I laughed.

Oh, I forgot I was helping Thatch to his aunt's house from the hospital. I raced out to the door. "I have to go. Be back later."

Uncle Roy yelled back, "Where are you going?"

I just let the door close behind me & giggled. "You don't need to know, Uncle Roy."

He's gonna bite my head off when I get back. Oh, no harm, no foul.

When I got to the hospital, Thatch was struggling with his crutches. I laughed at him. "Need any help?"

"Please?" Thatch asked. "I can't get the hang of these things, you'd think I wouldn't need them."

"Well, when you hurt something, like your ankle, then doesn't everything else work harder to make up for the injury? Plus, with you being bed-ridden, than your ankle is most likely weaker than usual. That's probably why." I stated, just saying whatever popped into my head. I felt kind of stupid, since he's the med. expert & I'm just the gear head.

"Hey, didn't you know, that's almost exactly the way they put it." Thatch told me. "They didn't really get that I'm an assistant up with the rare diseases."

I helped him get used to using the crutches & he told me that he would only need them for a few days. Talking to him now, it was…weird. He seemed to have something on his mind that kept his focus.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, picking up his bag to carry it over to his aunts house.

"Yeah." He lied. I could tell.

I smiled but only a small one. "If you say so. You know I'm going to ask you again anyways."

Thatch sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you. My mom's transfer date was moved to next week."

I stopped dead in my tracks, & my breath caught in my throat. "You're…what?"

"I have to move next week, my mom has custody now." Thatch explained.

"Uh, I wish you didn't have to." I said quietly, but my legs wouldn't work. I couldn't walk. I shook the thought off & blamed my weak legs on it before finally walking up to Thatch again. "Well, does that mean you have to pack in a few days?"

He nodded, stopping to wait for me to catch up with him.

This is bad, bad, bad. That means I would only have one week before I would start being depressed. I didn't blame him, yet I couldn't help but feel a little hot under the collar.

"You wanna come in?" Thatch asked when we got to the front door.

I shook my head & turned back down the drive. "Nah. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Uh, Okay, bye G." he called back.

Great, now I felt a pang of guilt at his tone. I just didn't feel like staying there for a time, it made me feel worse just seeing the house.

"Hey, where were you?" Flannery asked when I opened the door.

"I said I would help Thatch to his aunt's. Remember?" I replied coldly.

Flannery rubbed her arms & shivered, "Brr! I don't know about you, but I think the temperature just dropped about twenty degrees."

"Ha ha. You're so funny." I replied in a sarcastic tone, rolling my eyes for effect.

I knew what I was doing. Mom called it misplacing my anger, dad & I agreed it was just plain 'being an asshole.' Oh, then we would get in trouble for using language like that in front of Meggie. I turned away from my cousin & started up the stairs.

"Hey, what's wrong? You were one of the happiest girls in the world about an hour ago." Flannery stated, following behind me.

I waited until I got to my room & turned back to her. "Mind your own damn business, Flannery. It doesn't have anything to do with you." She opened her mouth to reply, but I just slammed the door in her face. "Just leave me alone."

I flopped down on the bed, only to get up & grab one of the many books I had borrowed from Uncle Roy & the twins. I had a few novels from Auntie R, but I had already finished them. Flipping through the book, I didn't get it. I mean, I could understand it as easily as I could fix a flat tire. I just didn't get how some people thought it was impossible to learn.

If you are too stupid to figure it out, the book was on alchemy. Bio-alchemy to be specific. Uncle Roy said a friend, Shou Tucker, had lent it to him, but he kept it. Kind of weird, he never mentioned anything about transmuting bodies. I'll just ask Ed or Al when they visit again.


	6. Central Academy, Here We Come

**Flannery's POV**

When Griffon got home later Aqua and I felt something was very wrong and the way she talked me I was not going to sit around and do nothing. So when Griffon was asleep we snuck into her room. Because Aquanette was the Lunar Alchemist she had the ability to look into people's dreams. Her left eye started to glow a light blue and a black crescent formed around her pupil. It took a couple of moments before her eye turned back to normal.

"Well I can see why she was upset Thatch is going to move with his mom" Aqua said.

"Then you know what we need to do Aquanette" I said.

"Of course. But forgive me for asking but why would you help her? She was so mean to you" Aqua said

"1. Because she hurting and we're her family and 2. It is our jobs as the alchemists of the sun and moon to help people even when they don't want it" I said.

"I gotta say Flannery you so the better person than I am" Aqua said shaking her head.

"I've always been the better person than you" I said.

"Oh yea" Aqua said

The next morning we got dressed and made our way to Thatch's house we were going to convince his mom to let him stay with his aunt. We knocked on the door and Thatch's mom answered it.

"Oh hello girls have you come to see Thatch?" Mrs. Lesser said.

"Something like that" I said

"Well please come in" Ms. Lesser said moving aside to let us in. Thatch was sitting on the couch watching T.V.

"Flannery, Aquanette what're you doing here?" Thatch said.

"In due time" I said holding up my hands. "Mrs. Lesser we came to talk to you" I said.

"Oh? What about girls?" Mrs. Lesser said sitting down.

"We think Thatch should stay here with his aunt instead of leaving with you" Aqua said.

"Girls I know where you're coming from. I know how much Thatcher likes Griffon I would love to leave him here but with that crazy father of his I don't know what to expect" Mrs. Lesser.

"But you don't have to worry about that. Mr. Lesser will be in jail and even if does get out we'll be there to protect Thatch. You know my mother's a sniper and my dad's a state alchemist. Flannery knows a lot about fighting and I'm good with my alchemy too" Aqua said.

"I know that but I don't want to burden you guys" Mrs. Lesser said.

"It won't be a burden to us at all we want to help" I said. "Well if you put it that way-" Mrs. Lesser started but was interrupted when Mr. Lesser busted through the door knocking it off the henges.

"Where is that damn boy?!" Mr. Lesser shouted

"Thomas what're you doing here?!" Mrs. Lesser said.

"I want that damn boy to pay for what he did. I'll put him right back in the hospital!" Mr. Lesser said.

"Thomas please! Leave him alone he's your son!" Mrs. Lesser said grabbing her husband's raised hand.

"I have no son!" Mr. Lesser said before he punched her across face knocking her down.

"Mrs. Lesser!" Aqua said running over to her.

"You're next boy" Mr. Lesser said turning to Thatch I quickly stood up.

"Leave him alone" I said.

"Out of my way girly" Mr. Lesser said. He tried to punch me but I quickly grabbed his fist.

"Mr. Lesser I'm trying to be the good person here I don't want hurt you I'm only here to help" I said

"I don't need help from anyone!" He said trying to punch me with his other fist. I grabbed his other fist and kicked him in the chin with my high heeled boot which knocked him down.

"Mr. Lesser I'm sorry to say that you're going to be going to jail" I said walking over to the phone.

"I'm not going anywhere!" He said standing up he ran over to me but I simply punched him across the face like he did Mrs. Lesser. Except I knocked him unconscious. I picked up the phone and called the police and then my sat with Thatch and his mom until the police came. The punch that Mr. Lesser gave his wife was so hard a blood vessel popped uner her eye so she had to the watched Mrs. Lesser climb into a ambulance and she looked at us and smiled.

"Thank you girls it looks like you kept your promise. I think I will let Thatcher stay here" Mrs. Lesser said before they drove off.

"Yes!" We said giving each other a high five. Then our parents and Griffon walked over.

"Griffon don't you have something to say to your cousins?" Mommy said.

"Yes I'm sorry I was so mean to you Flannery I was upset and thank you for doing this and helping Thatch and his mom. You're awesome" Griffon said.

"Thank you" I said giving her a hug.

"Eh what the heck" Aqua said giving her a hug too.

**Roy's POV**

Okay, Thatch gets to stay here, his dad goes to jail, his mom goes to Dublith, & Griffon will no longer be so upset. Happy day! Now, we were waiting to get her schedule.

"Do you remember the required classes I need to take?" Griffon asked as we walked down the halls.

"Yes, don't worry, I can handle your paperwork." I told her. "Are you worried about what people will say, you know, being the first girl to get a scholarship in mechanics?"

"Let them say what they want, as long as I'm doing what I love." Griffon laughed.

I ruffled her hair. "I like the way you think."

"Thanks, Uncle Roy." Griffon stated, giving me a smile. "No one better than you."

Later that day, Griffon looked over her schedule. "You signed me up for band class?" She asked, looking up at me.

"I figured you might like it." I stated.

She walked over to me. "Thank you, Uncle Roy. I'd like to give it a try."

I let out a breath. "I hope you don't mind if you don't have any classes with your cousins."

"Nah. I have biology with Thatch, he already told me his schedule." Griffon informed me.

"Great." I answered quietly. Did he really have to be in that school, too?

We waited for Flannery & Aquanette to get home so we could go over the schedule & see about the other classes. When we had everything straightened out, Griffon had two classes with the twins.

"Tomorrow, I start school at Central Academy." Griffon stated happily. "It's perfect."

"Wait, first we have to tell you about the people to stay away from." Aqua interjected. "Not everyone is as nice as you want to believe."

"No duh Aqua." Griffon said back. "I've been to schools before."

"Well, you know about the bad kids, but you don't know the bad ones at CA." Flannery informed.

"I'll leave you three to talk." I stated walking out.

**Griffon's POV**

"Bye, Uncle Roy." I called as he left. "Okay, who do I stay away from?"

Aqua looked at me seriously. "Don't take this lightly. These people can crush you."

"I get it, but I just don't show a lot of emotion unless it really effects me." I informed. "Please, go on."

"Basically, you just need to steer clear of Robin & her rat pack." Aqua told me. "If anyone else bugs you, just come to me & I'll fix them."

"Relax, I think I can handle myself." I commented.

"People will say things about you getting a mechanics scholarship." Flannery stated. "They won't go easy on you either."

"Yeah, I realized that when I was little." I said. "My mom got a little cold one day while dad was away. My brother & I fixed the cars for the day. We got so much criticism, until the customers saw our work."

"If you say so." Aqua shrugged. "Just be careful."

I nodded. "I will. Hey, I'm gonna go grab a book." I turned & headed for the staircase.

"God, my legs feel like jell-o." I commented quietly as I walked to my room. "It's just my imagination."

I picked up one of Aunt Riza's novels & flipped through it. After that, I just laid down on my bed & stared at the ceiling. I fell asleep in a few minutes, not that I meant to.

**--Begin the Dream--**

I looked around the foggy graveyard & at the stone markers. There was my mom & dad. "Mom? Dad? Come back, please." The rest of the markers were blurry & I couldn't tell what they said.

"Where have the days gone?" A voice carried over the area. "Where are my friends? They've all gone to see him."

I looked up & the large, chanting figure as it came closer. "What does that mean?" I asked her.

The figure ignored me & kept speaking. "They're in the heavens. I want to see them. To hold them in my arms." She grabbed my neck & squeezed. "But to achieve that, I must cause the others harm."

"S-S-Stop." I tried to say. "T-That hurts."

The woman holding me flashed a wicked smile. "Dear girl, that's the point. I'm giving you what you want, to be with your parents again."

I looked over the graveyard & started seeing the other names starting to show up. My name, Uncle Roy, Auntie R, Flannery, Aqua. All of my friends.

How did she know that? I couldn't breath. I was suffocating. I lost sight of what happened, & I blacked out.

**--End the Dream--**

I bolted up in bed. I was covered in a cold sweat & shaking really badly. That woman…I didn't know her, but she knew me. I hated those flashbacks about her. She had tried to kill me. I would've been dead, if someone hadn't seen.

I stood & went into the bathroom to splash water on my face. "Why can't I get rid of that dream?" I asked my reflection in the mirror. Of course I got no answer. I just went back to staring at the ceiling, since I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.I always had that dream when something good happened, so I guess it was to remind me that I should be thankful I'm still alive.

I woke up early the next morning with ugly annoying chicken alarm clock Aquanette got me last week. It was loud and sqwaking in my ear but at least it woke me up. I got dressed in a dark green blazer jacket, a black skirt, and black flats. I walked downstairs Flannery was eating breakfast, Aunt Rza was making more eggs and our lunches, Aqua was scrafing down her food and Uncle Roy was reading the newspaper. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Good morning Griffon" Uncle Roy said

"Good morning" I said sittinf down next to him.

"Griffon are you ready for your first day of school?" Aunt Riza said putting a plate of pancakes.

"I'm a little nervous but I think I'll do okay" I said picking up a fork and knife. "Can you pass me the syrup?"

"Of course" Aunt Riza said picking up the almost empty syrup bottle. "Aquanette we talked about this"

"I didn't do anything" Aqua said looking down.

"You need to stop drinking the syrup" Aunt Riza said rubbing Aqua's head.

"Yes ma'am" Aqua said.

"Here you are Griffon" Aunt Riza said handing me a brand new breakfast Aunt Riza and Uncle Roy had to go work and we had to go to school. Aunt Riza got me a new green bookbag and paid for my books too. She held all three of our bookbags in her hand.

"Flannery make sure you show your cousin around" Riza said handing Flannery the red book bag.

"Yes ma'am." Flannery said. She reached up and kissed her cheek. "Bye daddy" She kissed Uncle Roy's cheek and walked out.

"Aquanette stay out of trouble. If myself or your father has to come don to the school I will be very unhappy" Aunt Riza said handing Aqua the blue book bag.

"Yes ma'am" Aqua said. She reached up and kissed her cheek like Flannery did. "Bye daddy" She kissed Uncle Roy's cheek and walked out.

"Griffon if you need anything go to Flannery or Aquanette or one of their friends they'll help you" Aunt Riza said handing me the green bookbag.

"Yes ma'am" I said. I gave a kiss on the cheek too. "Bye Uncle Roy" I kissed his cheek and walked out too where the twins were started walking towards the school when Flannery stopped sudeenly to pick something up.

"Flannery what is it?" Aqua asked.

"This is amazing! I found a diamond fragment lying in the gutter!" Flannery said holding up a medium sized diamond.

"Damn it Flannery! This stuff happens to her like every other week" Aqua said.

"Awesome what are you going to do with it?" I asked.

"I'm going to give it to Alex and Marth's Aunt Ruby she'll turn it into something for me" Flannery said putting it in her arrived at the school and I saw Thatch, Marth and Alex standing with a group of people. We quickly walked over to them.

"Hey you" Flannery said smiling at Alex

"Hey" Alex said wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Everyone this is our cousin Griffon. Griffon this is Nikki,Summer, Tia, DJ, Kenny, and Giovanni" Flannery said.

"Nice to meet you all" I said a little nervously. Then the bell rang.

"Oh we better get going" Summer said. First period that meant I had English 2 with the twins.

I think I fell asleep in that class, half of it at least. When I opened my eyes, some girl was turned around in the seat in front of me & was looking at me. She dropped a folded piece of paper on top of my notes & turned back to face the teacher.

It was one of those stupid notes that I got in trouble for at my oldest school. It said, 'Hey, are you new? It's Griffon, right?'

I answered it, despite my better judgment & flicked it over her shoulder.

The girl passed it back after another minute. 'I'm Robin. Welcome to the CA. Need help finding your classes?'

'I'm fine, my cousins can help me. Thanks anyway.' I answered.

'Well, how'd you get in? What's your scholarship?' Robin asked.

The bell rang for the end of the class. We all stood up & started leaving. I walked up to Robin. "I got the first mechanics scholarship for a girl. Must seem pretty lame to most girls."

"No way, I think that's cool." Robin answered.

Was this the same Robin that Aqua hated so badly? I didn't think she was so terrible. "Thanks." I pulled out my schedule & looked at the room number for the Biology class. "Look, I have to get to biology." I stated.

"That's great, I have that class next." Robin exclaimed. "I can tell we're going to be great friends."

I flashed a fake smile. I don't feel comfortable around girls like her, but at least she was nice. "Okay."

I ran into Thatch about halfway there, Robin a little ways ahead of me. "Hey, Thatch, how's your aunt?"

"She's good." Thatch answered. 'Of course, she still won't get over the fact that dad rampaged her house & attacked us."

Robin looked over her shoulder. "Thatch, you know Griffon? How cool is that?"

"Yeah, I know her. How do you? Where're your friends?" Thatch asked her.

"We have class together & got to talking." Robin began. "My friends aren't here today, they got sick. They weren't here yesterday either."

"Sick?" Thatch mumbled so that only I could hear. "Maybe sick of you, but not sick."

I snickered a little. "Thatcher Lesser, that's not nice."

"It's true though, no one likes her aside from those-" Thatch began.

"Hey, Griffon, we just started group projects in biology, so you can join my group." Robin informed. "I'll ask the teacher for you."

"There is no way she's that nice. What is she really like?" I whispered to Thatch.

"Didn't Aqua tell you?" Thatch asked back.

I groaned. "The details were vague."

"Just don't get on her bad side, you're better off where you are now." Thatch told me.

"Yipee." I said sarcastically. "Oh, I forgot to ask. But I was wondering if you'd like to go to the new exhibit at the museum with me tomorrow after school. They have a tribute to Ancient Religions."

"Love to." Thatch answered. "You wanna go to the diner afterwards?"

"Sure." I replied.

Robin slowed down to walk beside us. "So, are you two dating or something?" She asked.

I could've sworn my face turned red. Thank god I didn't have the time to answer.

"Hey, Griff." Aqua called, running up to us. "What are you doing with 'it?'"

"Mustang" Robin said putting her hands on her hips.

"Cousin itt" Aqua said folding her arms across her chest.

"Those are some nice blue and black streaks there Mustang. Where'd you get them the Halloween store?" Robin said.

"Nope your mother gave them to me" Aqua said. Thatch and I started laughing at me.

"Well I would love to continue our daily playful banter but my friend Griffon and I have to get to class" Robin said.

"Friend?" I said quietly looking at Thatch.

"Over my dead body Griffon's your friend I just found I'm not going to lose her now" Aqua said.

"What are you talking about Mustang?" Robin said.

"I'm Griffon's cousin and there's no way you two are going to be friends. I can't have you hanging around my house eating my food. Now why don't you step along" Aqua said.

"Ugh! Mustang is your cousin?! That dirty boyfriend stealer? I can't believe I was nice enough to talk to you" Robin said. I knew it was too good to be true.

"C'mon Griffon let's go she's just mad because she went from the star of the football to the star of the chess team" Aqua said.

**Thatch's POV**

Thank god that didn't last long. Griffon got put in mine & Aqua's group for the project. It wasn't really that hard, more like one of the simpler projects.

"She won't give up that easily." I said while I jotted down a list of materials for the project.

"What do you mean by that?" Griffon asked without looking up from her textbook. "Are you talking about Robin?"

Aqua looked over at my list. "You forgot to put down the basic supplies. Paper, pencils, ink pens & Twinkies. Just ignore the 'it' & you'll make it through just fine."

"Twinkies? Why do I need-Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a minute." I said & added the items. "But, you & I both know that she's got something running through her mind, Aqua, however small it may be. She's also not one to give up easily."

"I kind of agree with Aqua, but you keep thinking what you want." Griffon replied. She closed her book & rested her head in her hands. "What next?"

"You don't like this class, do you?" I asked. She shook her head. "Cheer up & be thankful you have me & Aqua here to do most of the work."

"Fine, thank you for being in this class to do most of the work." Griffon told me. "Listen, I get the basic parts, but everything gets blurry as soon as you go into details. I need a tutor or something. Good thing I can just ask Aqua for help."

"You can't always expect me to help you." Aqua told her, crossing her arms.

Griffon shrugged. "Would you rather I just copy the work?"

"Forget I mentioned it." I said, holding my hands up. "Can we get back on subject?"

Another ten minutes later, we all headed off two our next classes. I didn't have any other classes with them until band class at the end of the day. So I walked with Griffon until I reached my class, halfway to the mechanics class.

"Bye, G. See you later." I called as I opened the door to class.

Griffon's POV

"Alright class, time for the new student to join class." The teacher said. "He should be here already, his name is Griffon Heights."

I growled quietly & stood up. "She is already here & her name is Griffon Heights, thank you."

The teacher, Mr. Hecuba I think, smiled nervously. "I'm sorry miss, do you have the wrong class?"

God, this man was sexist. I pulled out my schedule & handed it to him. "I'm in the right class, sir. Didn't you get notice that this class is now open to women?"

"Uh, I suppose I missed the memo." He stated sheepishly. I took my schedule back & sat down again.

We had those stupid lab desks that seated two. The guys sitting by me tapped my shoulder. "Don't worry about him, okay? He would forget his pants if his wife didn't remind him. Hell, once he did forget his pants. We have pictures if you want to see 'em."

I stifled a laugh. "Thanks."

"You think I'm lying?" He asked & pulled out a picture of Mr. Hecuba in his boxers. "Name's Grant Briers. Pleasure to meet you, Griffon."

I nodded. "Same here. What do we do in this class anyway?"

"Well, we don't start any physical work until next month, so until then most of us just pretend to take notes. Then when we turn in notes, I copy them from my friends Simon & Travis. They always take notes." Grant explained. "Right now we're discussing turbines."

"Ugh, I learned about turbines when I was six." I complained softly. "My mom & dad ran an auto-repair shop."

"Where are you & your parents living?" Grant questioned.

"I'm living with my uncle, Roy Mustang. My parents have taken up room in the local cemetery." I informed him. "Oh, & my little sister is in the hospital."

"Harsh." Grant commented.

I nodded & flipped my notebook open. I would've taken notes, but Grant & I ended up talking the whole time while Mr. Hecuba lectured on. By the end of class, I had three sketches of my favourite model car drawn out in detail. A month couldn't go by fast enough. That's one thing I had learned from Mr. Hecuba.


	7. Damn That Robin

**Griffon's POV**

I walked into third period which was band that was the class I had with the twins. I walked into the band room and saw Flannery first chair flute and Aqua first chair clarinet. I had heard them play before at the house and they were really good! No wonder they were first chair.

"Hey Griffon how's your day going?" Flannery said putting her flute together.

"Pretty good. So what's it like in this band class?" I asked

"Pretty cool Mr. Lincoln is really great. If we get all of our playing done then we get to go to lunch early" Flannery said.

"Awesome" I said.

"You'd better get going to the trumpet section class is going to soon" Flannery said.

"Oh right" I said. I walked over to the last chair of the trumpet section. My dad showed me a little bit before he left for Ishbal so I knew a little bit.

"Okay then class we've got a lot to do today. Okay according to the attendance record we have a new student Griffon Heights" Mr. Lincoln said looking at me.

"Yea that's me" I said with a small wave.

"Nice to meet you. Alright then after I get everyone warmed up I'll get caught up on the music for festival" Mr. Lincoln

"Yes sir" I said.

After we tuned up Mr. Lincoln handed me two pieces of sheet music they didn't look all that hard.

"Okay then we have one piece of music for festival we have for you. Aquanette I want you to play the Violin solo for part of this piece" Mr. Lincoln said flipping through his music.

"Yes sir" Aqua said. She pulled out her Violin and placed it on her lap. He handed some sheet music to her and she placed it on her stand.

"Take it from measure 27" Mr. Lincoln said picking up his baton as Aqua put her violin between her chin and her shoulder. "And 1,2,3 and" Mr. Lincoln said. Aqua began to play for a troublemaker she was really good! She didn't even miss a note it was amazing!

After class I walked over to the twins who were putting their intruments away.

"Wow you guys are good" I said.

"Thanks Mom and Dad made us take up music to keep us out of trouble" Flannery said.

"Dumbest idea ever" Aqua said shaking her head.

"Yea it kinda is. So where can I put this?" I said holding up my trumpet case.

"Oh you can put it in our band locker we have lots of room because our intruments aren't all that big" Aqua said. "Here I'll take it" Aqua said taking it and walking into the back room.

"So where's my next class?" I asked handing my class list to Flannery.

"Well you have to go to lunch remember then you go math" Flannery said.

"Oh right I guess I forgot" I said with a shrug. Then the bell rang.

"Oh there's the bell" Flannery said standing walked into lunch room and there wasn't a lot of people there maybe i could use to this. We sat down and pulled out the lunches Aunt Riza made us.

"Aren't those lunch boxes from like 20 years ago?" I asked as the twins pulled out their lunch boxes.

"More like 40" Aqua said taking the top off of her Thermos. It was full of totmato soup. In her lunch box there was some crackers, some fried shrimp, and some grilled cheese corners.

"Where'd you get those from?" I asked opening my brown paper bag.

"Our grandmother gave them to us. She use to them in middle school" Flannery said pouring some strawberry juice into a cup from her thermos. "Griffon why don't you see what mommy gave you for lunch?" Flannery said.

"Oh right" I said. I looked into the back and saw a thermos I opened it up and saw a vegetable soup there was a skinner thermos I opened that up and it fresh lemonade "Wow this all smells great"

"Yea mom knows her stuff." Aqua said dipping her shrimp into the tomato soup with her chopsticks.

"We'll have to get you a lunch box too I'm sure Grandma can give you one" Flannery said.

"I don't think I need one" I said shaking my head.

"Of course you do" Aqua said. These girls did not know when to take no for an answer!

"Hey Griffon" Thatch said sitting down next to me.

"Hey Thatch how was your day?" I asked.

"Pretty good just glad I got to lunch" Thatch said. "I was having the best nap and the teacher totally woke me up.

"Oh you'll be alright. And remember you have to go to the meseum with me this afternoon and you better be there" I said poking at his chest

"DOn't worry I'll be there" Thatch said.

"Eww the meseum" Aqua said in disgust.

"Not the point" i said shking my head.

"Be right back." I stood up & went to go throw my trash away. I still wasn't used to eating a lot, it made my stomach queasy when I did.

"Why's a girl like you hanging out with Mustang?" The girl behind me asked. I turned. It was Robin.

"Can't you just leave her alone? What did she ever do to you?" I asked.

"What's it matter to you? I'm offering you a chance to be one of _my _friends, despite the fact that you're that fake blonde's cousin." Robin sneered, putting her hands on her hips.

I chuckled, "You're just using that old mean girls' trick. You're trying to pit me & Aqua against each other. I'm so on to you, Robin."

"Well, if you want to act that way, than I'll make sure the rest of your time here at Central Academy is a living hell."

"Hit me with your best shot, abomination." I challenged. "I've been through Hell twice already. You can't break me."

"We'll just see about that." Robin answered, casting a glance at Thatch. "I'll get you, & your little boy-toy, too."

I knew the worry I felt was showing on my face, so I turned & bolted back to the table. "God, I'm doomed." I whispered.

**Thatch's POV**

Griffon was a total bag of nerves for the rest of the day. When I passed her in the halls, she always seemed to be looking over her shoulder.

My teacher let our class our early, considering one of my friends had set the clock a whole five minutes ahead before Dr. McCoy, my Med. Science teacher, noticed. "Looks like I'll just wait for the others." I mumbled.

Do you realize how boring it gets just waiting by the doors for a bunch of kids? Well, I'm kinda a kid, too, but ya get the point.

"Hey Thatcher? Can I talk to you?" A sickeningly sweet voice asked, making me cringe.

"I'd rather not be seen with you, Robin." I answered, not turning to look at her.

"But I just want to-" Robin began. The dismissal bell rang, drowning out her voice, & the kids poured into the halls.

I ran outside. "Sorry, Robin, tomorrow."

Griffon walked out a little later than the others. "Sorry. I had trouble with the swarms of kids pushing their way outside." Griffon explained. "I had to hide out in the bathroom until it could reach the doors safely."

"That's alright." I told her, holding out a hand. "You ready to go?"

Griffon nodded & took my hand. "Please, I can't get out of here quick enough."

The museum wasn't that bad. It was kind of cool. Griffon had apparently been hiding the fact that along with the Religions Exhibit, she wanted to see their tribute to graphic novels. "You could have told me you wanted to come here to see the graphic novels, you know."

"I know, but I didn't want everyone to hear me." She said. "Lots of people think that only freaks could like this stuff. The kids at school, at least."

"I thought you liked standing out in a crowd?" I asked. We passed through the Wildness Within exhibit. It was weird: sculptures of strangely formed animals hung on the walls. It gave most people the creeps, but that's why it was so popular. Griffon gasped & hid her eyes.

"I do, but I don't want to stand out even more than usual now that I'm the new kid at school. Can we get out of here?" Griffon stated, stepping closer to me.

I smiled & wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah. Keep your eyes closed, & I'll lead you out."

"Thank you." She said.

"No problem. You're safe." I told her. We walked around the arms gallery & then the conservatory. I reached into my pocket & handed Griffon a penny. "Here. They have a wishing fountain in the back."

"Cool. Let's go." She smiled & pulled me through & past the koi pond & desert plants to the small fountain. "I love these things. Dad would always give me pennies to toss in any wishing fountain we came to."

I chuckled, "Make a wish, G."

She turned around, whispered something, & flipped the coin over her shoulder. It splashed into the water. She reached into her pocket & put a penny in my hand. "You make one, too."

I sighed & turned, flipping the coin into the pond. "Happy?"

"Very. You ready to go?" Griffon asked.

"Sure." I agreed. As we walked out, I caught a glance at a few kids. Mainly the one in the middle: Robin. What was her deal? I smirked & held onto Griffon's hand. Just in time to see Robin flare up with what was probably a mix of anger & jealousy.

The next day, Robin met up with me before the rest of the guys showed up. My aunt lives relatively close to the school, so I always beat them here. "Hey Thatch, you said I could talk to you today."

I groaned & turned around. "Ugh, what do you want?"

She stepped closer. I would have backed up, but I had been leaning against a fence in the first place. I couldn't take a step back & or to the side. "Well, I wanted to-"

"Thatch, what's going on?" Alex called, running up to me with Marth.

Robin turned to them & I took my chance to get away from her. "Seriously, chick, personal space issues here." I told her.

She gasped & started walking towards me. "But you said we could talk."

"That doesn't mean you can get in my face. Back off, keep your distance." I dodged her & ducked behind Alex & Marth before running into the school.

**Aqua's POV**

I had a bad feeling. Just seeing Robin yelling at Alex & Marth made me simmer.

"Wonder what's going on." Griffon said quietly.

Robin yelled again as we got closer. "I was trying to have a conversation with Thatch."

Griffon growled & clenched her fists. "Yeah right."

Alex retorted, "Give me a break. It was more like you were trying to force someone else's boyfriend to kiss you."

"Yeah. We saw you two. You kept getting closer & he was trying to get away from you." Marth argued. "He's with Griffon. You just need to get over yourself & back off."

Robin huffed & started down the block, where her rat pack had started gathering to wait for her. Griffon growled again.

"He's inside." Alex said in response to her growl, pointing at the double-doors to the school.

"We know what she's gonna do next." Flannery reminded when Griffon was gone.

I nodded. "'It' is crossing the line. First Marth, now Thatch. What does she have against us."

"Keep an eye out for her. Thatch says he caught her watching them at the museum yesterday." Alex informed us.

"She's gonna get hurt." I muttered.

"Calm down, as long as she doesn't try anything." Alex began.

"If she does?" Flannery asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex shrugged. "Do as you might. She's all yours."

All of us sat down for lunch we were eating peacefully when Robin stormed over covered in a pink goo. Looks like our plan worked.

"Which one of your Mustangs did it?" Robin said putting her hands on her hips as she always did.

"What're you talking about?" I said taking a bite of my food.

"Don't play dumb with me! One of you Mustangs put a goo filled balloon in my locker. And I know it wasn't little miss good two shoes over here" Robin said pointing to Flannery.

"If you know it's not Flannery then why did you ask which one of us did it?" I asked.

"…That's not that point! You messed up my very expensive blazer jacket!" Robin said.

"Well your blazer is just like our blazers which are very expensive. And besides your dad isn't all that rich he's two ranks below my daddy" I said.

"Will you shut up! I know it was you" Robin said.

"Can you prove this?" I asked

"…Well no. But once I go over the survilence cameras with the principal I'll prove that you did!" Robin said walking away.

Aqua you are going to be in so much trouble" Griffon said.

""I am not. Flannery did it" I said.

"Uh huh" Flannery said nodding her head.

"But Flannery why?" Griffon said.

"Because I'm smart. Robin's already gone after Marth & now Thatch no way she's taking Alexander from me" Flannery said as Alex wrapped his arms around Flannery's waist.

"Good point but how'd you do it?" Griffon said.

"Well it took a lot planning but I finally got it right. Because I'm the Solar Alchemist my body blends in with sunlight so with that power I turned my body and the ballon invisable so no one would see me. I put the ballon in her locker and then used alchemy to shorten my hair and changed it black and changed my blazer so no one would see me walk away from Robin's locker" Flannery explained. "Aqua and I thought about it together."

"Ya it was a beautiful plan just a shame I couldn't do it myself. But don't you worry we've got something planned for her" I said with a smirk.

**Griffon's POV**

I didn't want to think about what they had planned. I learned it's better not to ask a long time ago.

"Griffon, are you okay?" Flannery asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm just fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're not eating." Flannery pointed out.

"Not hungry. I never eat a lot anyway, you know that." I argued quietly, looking around the room.

"Looking for Thatch?" Alex asked.

I shook my head & kept looking. "A few friends from mechanics. They promised me a tape & I need to find get it from them."

"A tape? On mechanics?" Flannery wondered.

I laughed, "No! Even better, our teacher on the day he forgot his pants. They have all kinds of blackmail on him." I spotted Simon & jumped up. "There's Simon. Be right back."

Simon stood up & started walking over to me, but I thought he was just going to pass me. "Hey, Griffon, I got that video for you." He said, stopping in front of me. He handed me the tape & took off his glasses to clean them. "Keep it. I got copies."

"Wow, thanks a ton, Simon." I exclaimed.

"Don't mention it." Simon waved a hand in dismissal. "You wanna come sit with us."

I nodded. "Just let me tell my cousins where I'm going."

Simon grabbed my arm & dragged me to a table. "They won't mind if we steal you for a little bit."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Guess nothing, we deserve a little time with the princess." Simon stated.

"Simon, don't call me a princess." I whined, sitting down between Travis & Grant. Simon seated himself across from us. "You know I hate that."

"Relax, you know we're just messing with you." Grant said with a shrug.

"Sometimes I think you guys mess around a little too often." I informed.

Travis handed me his notes. "But, you gotta love us. We give you notes, you'd fail without us."

"Yeah, right." Grant interjected. "Half the time, Mr. Hecuba forgets where he puts the papers & just passes us."

I nodded & laughed. "He's got a point."

"Oh, so you're saying you don't like us at all? How rude!" Simon & Travis gasped, crossing their arms & turning away.

"If I don't like you, then why am I still here when I can leave now that I have your notes?" I asked, waving the papers around.

Thatch was acting a little strange. We still went on dates & sat together at lunch, but he just seemed like he wanted to be somewhere else. I didn't worry about him for a while, I wanted to know what the twins had planned for Robin. They hadn't done to her yet, that's just what fed my paranoia. That, & the festival was getting closer, & that only made my suspicions worse.

I also started spending more time with Grant & his friends, who were all in mechanics. They were really cool, although they had a tendency to drag me away from the twins to talk to me & wouldn't stop calling me princess. I guess I didn't mind that much, but they made it harder to spend time with my cousins. That's all that got on my nerves. They were sweet & nice &, well let's face it, they kept my grades up.

**Flannery's POV**

"Huh I wonder where Griff went to" I said looking around.

"You better go find her we need her!" Aqua said. "She has to be in on laughter"

"I'll go find her." I said standing up. I walked around and saw Griffon sitting with a group of kids. "Hey Griffon come here a minute"

"Uh sure Flannery. I'll see you losers later" Griffon said standing up.

"Later Princess" One boy said.

"Ugh shut up!" Griffon walked back over to the table and sat down.

"So what's going on?" Griffon asked.

"At 3rd period today there's going to be a huge prep rally because the football team are going to be playing the East City bears Friday. You keep saying how you want to see some Solar and Lunar Alchemy right?" Aqua said.

"I guess so" Griffon said

"Well you're going to see some" I said.

"Flannery why are you getting into this?" Griffon asked.

"2 reasons. 1. Out of my love for Alexander and 2. Because of my status of the alchemist of the sun it is my duty to protect all that are weak from every evil presence, aura, essence, and person that wishes to harm them. And Robin Stately is one of those things" I said. I took the power of the sun very seriosuly and was going to use for the greater good for as long as I could.

"Ain't she great?" Alex said wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a small kiss on the lips.

"Must you to do that every two seconds?" Aqua said.

"Someone's just a little cranky because their boyfriend had a meeting with the football team" I said.

"Why does he have to be such the overachiever?!" Aqua said putting her head on the table. "WHY?!"

At the start of 3rd period we loaded into the gym we quickly found Thatch and Alex and sat with them. Then the cheerleaders came out and started jumping around.

"Ready?!" Robin started.

"Okay!" The only cheerleaders said.

"Should I start or should you?" Aqua said.

"You can go first I know how much you want to" I said.

"You are the bestest" Aqua said. A couple of weeks ago Aquanette perfected this move she had been practicing on for a wall she called the Lunar chain. She was turning simple matter into Lunar matter made of chain of crescents. "Here I go" Aqua said. She started twirling her finger and the chain came up out of the ground and wrapped one of the cheerleaders ankles causing her to fall down and cause two others to fall. "Your turn sis"

"My pleasure" I said. I stuck one finger in the air and began to turn my hand very slowly as I concentrated the sun started to turn slowly and it momentairly blinded some of the cheerleaders causing them to fall all over each other. It made everyone to laugh. Robin got so mad she just threw down her pom poms and stormed out. The cheerleaders got confused but they followed them out.

"Okay even though you guys are really sneaky. I gotta say that was pretty amazing" Griffon said giving us each high fives.

"We're just awesome like that" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Yea we are. So Aqua would you say mission accomplished?" I said.

"Hell yea!" Aqua said giving me a high walked home laughing and smiling all the way. We walked in and saw Mommy looking two dressed that were laid out on the couch.

"Hey Mom what's up?" I asked

"Oh hello girls. I'm just trying to pick out a dress for the military ball next week. You know how I liked to be prepared" Mommy said with a hand on her chin.

"You should try the black one you'd look nice in it" Griffon said.

"Thanks I might just do that." Riza said.

"Can we go too?" I asked. I loved the military ball of the dancing and lights and the people it was just amazing.

"I'm sure your father will let you go" Riza said.

"Yay! I'm going to invite Alex" I said quickly pulling out my cell phone. He was my speed dial 2 after my voicemail

Griffon left early the next morning, she didn't even have breakfast. She just walked in, grabbed her bag, gave mom a hug, dad a kiss on the cheek, & left with a 'goodbye.'

"Is she okay?" I asked mommy.

She leaned closer to me & Aqua. "Yes, she's just leaving early so that she can ask Thatch to be her date to the military ball without getting in trouble with your father." She whispered.

"Oh." We said. "I get it."

"Wanna follow?" Aqua asked.

"Sure. Bye mom, bye dad." I called, grabbing my bag & heading out the door.

We stopped dead at the sight in front of us. Robin was standing across from Thatch & Griffon, who were staring at the ground.

"It would be such a shame if they found out, wouldn't it?" Robin asked, giving a smug grin.

Griffon sighed & turned around, "Fine, fine. I'm in."

"Me too." Thatch said, "Only if you don't tell anyone about this, ever."

Robin stepped forward & tugged Thatch's shirt up, revealing the scars his dad had left. "Such a shame if someone found out how you got these. Good thing you two agreed."

Aqua moved forward, but I stopped her. "Let me punch her, just once."

"No, I want to know what she's doing to Griffon." I said, knowing Griffon wasn't going to tell us.

"You think they'll hold your girl back a few grades when they find out how many years you _weren't_ in school." Robin continued. She put a hand on Griffon's shoulder & shun her around. "You skipped grades five through nine. It's no wonder the work confuses you."

"I didn't skip them," Griffon argued, "I just missed most of days in fifth through eighth."

"What about ninth?" Robin asked with a smug grin.

"I cut almost every class, I only went to music." Griffon confessed. "Look you got what you wanted, now leave me alone."

"Why did she only say to leave her alone?" Aqua asked.

"Does it look like I know?" I snapped quietly. I was amazed that the three hadn't seen us, but I didn't want us to get caught now.

Thatch blocked Robin's view of the girl. "Okay, that's enough Robin. Give us a minute."

"The longer I have to wait, the closer I get to telling the whole school." Robin huffed, walking a few feet away.

Thatch gave Griffon a kiss & whispered something in her ear. He walked over to Robin & took her hand.

I gasped, "That's why she's doing this?"

"Let's go get Griffon." Aqua stated, walking up to her.

"Hey Griffon. Are you okay?" I asked, pretending that I hadn't seen anything.

Griffon shook her head, but didn't say anything. Aqua asked, "Did we see you talking to the abomination?"

Griffon nodded & took a shaky breath. "Me & Thatch talk to each other, sit with each other, do anything, & Robin spills our secrets to the whole school. Even worse, Thatch has to be the abomination's boyfriend."

"Well, Thatch's secret is probably that his dad sent him to the hospital & then attacked their house." I said. "But what do you have to hide?"

Griffon looked very angry. "I saw you, Flannery. Don't make me admit to it again. The only reason I told you what she did was because you weren't there to hear it for yourself."

"Sorry." I stated softly.

"Whatever. Hey, make up something to excuse my absence. I can't stay here." Griffon whispered, running off.

"Griffon, wait." I called. Aqua grabbed my wrist to keep me from going after her.

"People won't notice a thing if Griffon skips, she's still too new to have a pattern, but they will notice if you don't show up. You don't have the time to go after her."

We looked over at Thatch & Robin. Thatch looked over at us & mouthed the words "I'm sorry."


	8. Return to the Hospital

**Aqua's POV**

I hated this. I hated Robin. The only thing that wasn't keeping me from ripping that creature's throat out of mouth was Marth's arms around my waist and my head in his shoulder.

"It'll be okay Aquanette" Marth said.

"No it won't " I siad pushing away slightly. "Robin blackmailing Griffon for something that was probably out of her control it's not fair!" I said.

"I know, I know. But think about it like alchemy" Marth said.

"Alchemy?" I said confused

"Yea everything has an explaination and you're a smart girl and I know you'll find a way to help your cousin. Think about it like equivalent exchange" Marth said

"You're so smart" I said smiling. I gave him a small kiss on the lips and ran into the school

Turns out I did figure something out to stop the evil she devil. I overheard Robin and Thatch saying that they were going to that diner on main street that Marth always takes me too. It would take off from there.

Flannery, Griffon and I waitied by the back door.

"Okay Griffon send it to him" I said.

"Aquanette are you sure this going to work?" Griffon said.

"Yes! I am a Mustang damn it and I don't take anything lying down! Now send him that text message" I said putting my hands on my hips.

"Fine" Griffon said pulling out her green cell phone. She quickly sent him a message "Okay send" Griffon said pressing the send button. A few minutes later Thatch climbed outside through the bathroom window and quickly rushed over to Griffon.

"Griffon thank goodness" Thatch said hugging Griffon tightly. "You won't believe what this crazy broad is putting me through. She wants me to take her to the military ball" Thatch said.

"Don't worry Thatch the twins and I have a plan and you and I can go to themilitary ball together I mean if you want to" Griffon said blushing at the last part.

"Of course I do." Thatch said. "Oh wait" Thatch said pulling out her cellphone. "Ugh it's from Robin. Thank goodness she has to go home" Thatch said.

"Alrighty then. Aquanette let's get over to Major Stately's house let's give Thatch and Griffon some alone time" Flannery said.

"Right! We'll see you lovebirds later" I said with a smirk.

We arrived at Robin's house which was a lot smaller than our house which was probably because he was just a major. We walked in and were greeted by Robin's mom and dad we quickly told them what happened with a few key notes missing to protect Griffon and Thatch. We simply told them that Griffon was the new girl in class who had been through a lot and Robin was picking on her and stole her new boyfriend that she cared a lot for through blackmail.

"Mommy, Daddy I'm home! I had the best day ever with my new boyfriend Thatch I'll talk to him about coming to dinner tomorrow" Robin said as she walked into her living room and saw us sipping tea. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We just had a little chat with your Mommy and Daddy" Flannery said sipping her tea.

"Robin Vienna Stately! You have got a lot of explaining to do!" Her father said as he and her mother walked out of the kitchen.

"Vienna?" I said confused.

"Like those cute little sauages?" Flannery said.

"Robin why would you do such an aweful thing to a new girl?" Her mother said.

"What do you mean?" Robin said.

"Blackmailing Robin? We raised you better than that" Her father said.

"I just did it to get back at them. Their icky cousin didn't even go to 5th through 9th grade" Robin said folding her arms across her chest.

"Robin that is impossible they wouldn't even let her in if that happened." Her mom said.

"But it's true! I looked in to it! Oops" Robin said covering her mouth.

"So you tried to did up dirt for this horrible lie?! That is it! No military ball for you!" Her father said.

"But daddy I always go to the military ball" Robin said.

"Not this year you can blame this all on you immature behavior. As a matter offact you're grounded!" Her father said.

"Grounded?! Me?!" Robin said.

"Yes two weeks, no friends, no phones, no credit cards, and no shopping and if I catch any word of you causing trouble again then I am going to make sure that you are kicked off the cheerleading squad" Her dad said.

"No! I promise I'll be good sir!" Robin said.

"Good and it better stay that way" Her father said. "I'm sorry it had to come to this girls."

"We're sorry too but we're just doing this for our cousin we're all she's got"Flannery said.

"We understand Robin don't you have something to say to the twins" Her mother said.

"I'm...sorry" Robin said through gritted teeth.

"Thank you but you really need to apologize to Griffon because of all the mess you put her through" I said.

"That's a great idea. Robin tomorrow at school you are going to apologize to Griffon and Thatch for blackmailing them and coming up with false information and the twins will be ther to make sure you actually do it" Her dad said.

"Yes daddy" Robin said sadly

"Now go upstairs now young lady!" Her dad said.

"Yes daddy" Robin said walked outside and saw Griffon and Thatch hand in hand.

"So did it work?" Griffon said.

"Damn right it did!" I said.

"Woo-hoo! You girls never cease to amaze me!" Griffon said.

"Duh! We're awesome like that!" We said.

Never mess with a Mustang

**Griffon's POV**

I really hate school now. I was waiting for the inevitable. Thatch & I knew Robin would yell the truth to the whole school at lunch, so we had prepared a quick & hasty exit. I dropped my head on the table.

"We're dead. I'm going to get kicked out for this." I groaned. "I can't stay in a school like this when I didn't even go to a normal school for four years."

"Why _did_ you miss all that time?" Flannery asked.

I poked Thatch's arm. "It's all yours, boom-boom."

"How does he know?" Aqua wondered.

"She was in the hospital for the fifth, sixth & seventh grades." Thatch began. "It was when I first started volunteering. She had this weird-"

"Hey!" I interrupted.

"Correction, rare disorder that makes her legs really weak." Thatch continued. "She kept collapsing in the middle of the hallways or passing out in class from where she had to work extra hard to stay standing."

"What about the other years?" Flannery pondered.

I raised my head a little. "That's when my mom died & I started looking for other family."

"Wait, how _did_ you get in?" Thatch asked.

I groaned again. "I had a letter of recommendation from the head of this big automotive production company." My head slammed against the table again. "He was one of my mom's employees. I ran into right before it was time to turn in the report & he wrote it up when I explained what I was doing. I didn't ask him or anything, he just wrote it up & told me to put it in the back of the binder."

"Ready to face the truth?" Thatch asked.

My head shot up. Robin was standing in the middle of the room. "Oh, God no." I cried, burying my face in Thatch's chest. "If there was ever a time for the ground to open up & swallow me, it'd be now."

"Just remember which door to go out of." Thatch reminded, wrapping an arm around me.

Robin cleared her throat. "Time to spread some trouble." I heard her say. "Attention: people! I have some shocking news about the new girl!" She yelled.

I shut my eyes tight. I knew by now that everyone was looking at her, whither they liked her or not. "Griffon Heights - our newest student - has…" she stopped.

I looked up. Grant, Simon & Travis had moved to surround the 'it.' "Whatever you have to say, keep it to yourself." Grant yelled at her.

"Do you really think that anything you say will effect how we think of her?" Simon asked.

"Then you won't care when I say that she _hasn't_ gone to school since the fifth grade!" Robin called as loud as she could. "This is her first time going to school in _four_ years!"

I buried my face in Thatch's chest again. "Tell me what their doing."

"They're staring at you. You wanna bail?" Thatch answered.

"No." I stood up & stated loudly. "So what? That doesn't mean I'm not as smart as the rest of you."

"Just what were you doing instead of going to school?" A boy yelled.

Thatch stood up & dragged me away towards that door. "You don't have to answer to them."

It was too late, though. Kids were crowding around the doors. "Go ahead, answer him!" one girl ordered.

"Leave her alone! She was in the hospital all that time." Thatch answered for me.

I felt my legs starting to go weak. "Thatch" I hissed in his ear. "My legs are gonna give out. I need to sit down."

"Why don't you tell everyone why you missed that one week of school?" Robin called from her spot in the middle. "Where were you? The hospital, right."

"Shut up right now, Stately." Thatch's snapped. He let me lean against him for support. With all these kids, we couldn't find an empty seat.

"His _dad_ put him in there! His dad's been abusing him for a long time now. The only reason it stopped was because Mr. Lesser was put in _jail_ for attacking him & his mom." Robin screamed.

"Thatch…" I said softly. "Come on. I need to get out of here."

Flannery & Aquanette pushed their way up to us. "Are you okay? You look sick."

"I'm gonna collapse." I told them. "My legs are gonna give unless I sit down."

They looked at each other. "We can help." They grabbed my arms & led me through the kids. I kept tripping & stumbling. "Look at her. She has ever right to miss school. She can't walk without feeling like she's gonna fall." Aqua told them.

I started to feel dizzy. "Guys, I'm getting light-headed."

"Move! Let her sit down. She could pass out. Do you really want her to have to go to the hospital? It'll be on all your heads." Flannery informed.

"You're just dragging more attention towards me." I said, slurring my words slightly.

Thatch ran in front of us & started walking backwards. "Come on, stay awake G."

I closed my eyes. "I can't." I stopped walking & started falling forward.

Thatch caught me. I couldn't open my eyes but I could hear them. Thatch yelled, "Aqua, go get some help." Of course, I passed out completely after that.

**Roy's POV  
**Riza and I got a call from Aquanette telling us to come down to the hospital as soon as possible. We walked into the lobby and saw the twins sitting down. Flannery was hunched over with her head in her hands and Aqua rubbing her back.

"Aqua what's wrong?" I said as Riza and I walked over.

"She's just a little stressed out. Something really bad happened at school today" Aqua said still rubbing her sister's back.

"Flannery" Riza said knealing in front of Flannery. She slowly looked up. "I know you're really upset right now and your father and I want to help but you need to tell me what's happening okay?" Riza said. Flannery slowly nodded her head. "Okay start slowly"

"Well some how Robin Stately found out some really bad things from Griffon's past and how Thatch's dad use to beat up on him so then she used that to blackmail them both. We went to Robin's house to tell her to stop and then Robin parent's grounded her but then she came back and let the whole thing out and then Griffon's legs started to give out and then she fainted. I can't help but think that we somehow caused this" Flannery said.

"No not at all. You were just trying to help your cousin and I'm sure she appricates what you girls did it's just that sometimes things don't always go the way the way we plan them. We just need to help Griffon get through this okay?" Riza said

"Uh-huh" Flannery said shaking slightly. "Daddy I'm cold"

"I'll go get you a blanket while I go talk to the doctor" I said. I talked to the doctor quickly and he leaded me to Griffon's room

"Hey Uncle Roy" Griffon said quietly

"Doctor gave me some medicine said I should be up and walking in a few days pride's a little hurt though" Griffon said

"Don't worry you're strong you'll get through this you've been through a lot." I said.

"Yea I guess so" Griffon said.

"Well at least your handling this better than the twins" I siad.

"Why what's wrong?" Griffon said.

"Well they told us what happened and Flannery has this condition that makes her very sick when she gets to high levels of stress" I explained.

"So that's how she so calm all of the time" Griffon said.

"Yea she's always been like that" I said.

"I've been meaning to ask you how long have you been the twins' father?" Griffon siad.

"Let see it's been about 8 years now" I said thinking about.

"Wow so you've known them since they were little girls" Griffon said.

"Yea the sad thing is they still act the same way now as they did when they were little. Flannery still doesn't like thunderstorms, Aqua still puts ketchup on everything, Flannery still sleeps with a stuffed angel of course I still needed to get another one for her, Aqua still sleeps with a stuffed moose she has the same one, they still fight over little things but they make up like three seconds later" I said explaining all the little things I noticed about the twins over the years.

"Wow that honestly doesn't surprise me" Griffon said giggling.

"Yea well I'm going to let you get some sleep do you mind if I borrow this?" I said picking up a blanket "It's for Flannery"

"Yea sure and please tell the twins I'm fine" Griffon said.

"Will do" I said taking the blanket. I kissed her forehead and then walked out.

I came back and Flannery was sitting up more I wrapped the blanket around her and sat down next to her.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"A little better. How's Griffon?" Flannery asked. She never talked about herself for too long.

"She's going to be fine she just needs some rest. We can visit her tomorrow okay?" I said rubbin Flannery's back.

"Okay Daddy" Flannery said.

We came home, ate dinner, and quickly went off to bed. After I said good night to Aquanette I went into Flannery's room and sure enough her angel was lying on her bed. It was a simple little plush doll. A white gown, yellow wings, and dark red hair that I had speically made for her.

"Flannery where are you?" I said.

"I'm coming I was brushing my teeth" Flanenry said walking out.

"I came to say good night" I said.

"Oh okay good night." She gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

"Try to get some sleep okay? I know you're going to be thinking about Griffon" I said

"You can read right through me daddy I'll try" Flannery said with a small smile.

"Alright good night kid" I said walking out.

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about this. I was supposed to take care of Griffon, & that meant I should've known if she wasn't feeling well. It was her choice to tell me, yet she didn't. I would ask her about it tomorrow.

"Miss Heights is seeing a private visitor right now." Ms. Micheals stated calmly. "He should be out any minute now. She requested not to be interrupted."

A group of people passed by. "There he is. Go ahead in." Ms. Micheals told us.

I looked around. There were five boys standing there. Any one of them could've been the one that had gotten Griffon's attention.

"Hey Uncle Roy, Auntie R, twins." Griffon greeted as we walked in. "I think I have some good news."

"What?" The girls asked excitedly.

"Megan's condition has improved so much, they're letting her out of the hospital. Now all she has to do is get weekly check-ups." Griffon answered.

"Great. We have more than enough room for her." Riza told her. "She's welcome to live with the rest of us."

Griffon nodded. "Thank you."

"Could I talk to Griffon alone?" I asked.

Riza, Flannery & Aquanette walked out & I sat down in one of the chairs next to her bed. "Am I in trouble?" she wondered.

"No, I'm just thinking about something." I said. "Why didn't you tell us about your condition?"

"You guys are so nice." Griffon began. "You went out of your way to help me from the very beginning, & I didn't want to worry you." She sighed. "The thing is, all the doctors I've seen have always said that I should barely have the strength to get out of bed in the morning. Some days, I can't for a while. But I don't want to pressure people into being nice to me because of my condition, I don't want people to worry about me constantly. And, if I had only thought about me, I could've made things so much easier for me, yet didn't because it would inconvenience others."

"You need to know this. Sometimes you need to stop & think about the consequences of even the actions you think are good." I told her. "You need to take a little time to think about what you're doing to yourself by trying to put others ahead of you."

"I know. Freddie used to tell me that. I wouldn't use a wheelchair when I first got sick, since I knew how hard it was to do things & how it would slow others down if they helped me. It only made it worse & I had to stay in the hospital for two weeks." Griffon continued.

"Who came to see you?" I don't know what made me say it, but I was worried. I wanted that question answered.

Griffon shrugged. "I don't know. He just talked to me about the usual topics &, when I asked who he was, he gave me a letter & left." She held up an envelope & opened it.

"Well?" I asked.

Griffon looked up & tucked the letter back into the envelope. "Sorry, Uncle Roy. It's for my eyes only."

"What's it about?" I questioned.

"It's just about Meg. A basic letter informing me on her condition, like I don't already know, & something about my brother being here to visit her." Griffon told me.

"Your brother. Does that means he's here?" I wondered.

Griffon made a face. "Ha! No! He never stays one place long unless it's he's got a job. Most likely, he's long gone by now."

"Oh, okay, I'll let you talk to the girls." I stood up & went outside. "She's all yours." I told Riza & the twins.

"Wait Uncle Roy?" Griffon called. I turned around. "When can I go home? I miss it there."

"Not long. You can last a few days here, can't you?" I said. She nodded, but I knew she didn't agree.

**Riza's POV  
**Griffon and Megan got out of the hospital on the same day. So we waited for Megan to come out in the lobby and the twins were more than excited that their little cousin was coming home. After all the time they had come to the hospital they had never seen her before so they couldn't wait.

"When is Megan coming out?" Aqua said.

"Griffon is helping her gather up her things" I said looking up from the magazine I was reading.

"I can't wait to see Megan. I've always wanted a little sister" Flannery said.

"B-But what about me" Aqua said.

"No offense sis even through you are technically 2 minutes younger than me I've always wanted a baby sister" Flannery said. "But I still love you" Flannery said pinching her cheeks.

"Yea whatever" Aqua said folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay Meg these are you cousins this is Flannery and Aquanette. Twins this is your cousin Megan" Griffon said. The twins quickly got on to their knees in front of Megan.

"It's nice to meet you Megan I'm Flannery and this is my sister Aquanette." Flannery said so Megan could tell them apart. "I made you a present." Flannery said holding a teddy bear made of different patches of shades of red.

"Wow thank you!" Megan said taking the teddy bear from her.

"I'm glad you like it" Flannery said smiling. Suddenly, Aqua pushed Flannery out of the way so she was in front of Megan.

"Actually Meg I made you a present too" Aqua said.

"Wow two presents? This must be my lucky day!" Megan said.

"Uh huh" Aqua said. She pulled out a teddy bear that was similar to Flannery's except it had patches of different shades of blue.

"Thank you" Megan said taking Aqua's bear from him.

"So Megan which one do you like better?" Flannery said sitting up

"Yea it's mine right?" Aqua said.

"I can't pick. Red and Blue are my favorite colors" Megan said with a shrug.

The twins let out a groan but smiled none the less. "Well we're glad you like them Megan" Flannery said.

"Ready to go home?" Roy asked

"Uh-huh" Megan said nodding her carried Megan out piggy back style to the car. We drove home and Griffon and Aquanette took Megan up to the room they painted for her. It was red with blue and purple stripes and flowers on the dinner all the girls went to bed Roy and I sat down in the living room.

"Seems like we're getting little girls all the time huh Riza?" Roy said.

"Yea first the twins, then Griffon, now little Megan seems like our little family is growing bigger and bigger all the time" I said with a smile.

"Don't you think it's about for a little boy" Roy said with his hand on my stomach.

"Hmm...I'll think about it" I said giving him a small kiss.

The next morning, I heard Griffon & Megan when I went to call them down for breakfast. "Come on, baby girl, give me a smile. You're gonna be fine."

"I don't wanna go there, it reminds me that papa's gone." Megan complained. She wouldn't be enrolled at the elementary school until next week, so she was going to work with me & Roy.

Griffon sighed, "Baby girl, mama & papa are always here. You always say that when I talk about them, now I'm telling you."

"Alrighty, let's go. I'm hungry." Megan called.

I stepped into the doorway. "Girls, I came to get you. It's time to eat." I said.

Griffon picked Megan up & sitting the girl on her hip. "Let's go Meggie."

"Okay." Megan smiled & ruffled her sister's hair. "Hurry up, Gigi."

Griffon laughed & headed down the stairs. When I got down, the girls had seated themselves on either side of Roy. I smiled at the sight of them getting along with him so well.

"So, which do you like better?" Flannery asked Megan. "Red or blue?"

Megan shrugged. "It's a really close call. But, given the choice, I'd go with blue more often than not."

"That's my girl." Aqua chimed.

"Okay, okay, hurry up. You don't want to be late." I commented.

Griffon sighed, "That's where you're wrong Auntie R. I'd rather not go at all."

"But you have to. It's a law." Flannery told her.

Griffon stuck her tongue out at Flannery. "I don't think I have a problem avoiding the law when it comes to cutting school."

"True." Aqua agreed.

Flannery stood up. "Let's go." They said goodbye to me & Roy.

"Bye, baby girl." Griffon said sweetly, kissing Megan's forehead. "Hey, guys. You forgot someone."

"Yeah, don't be meanies. I live here too." Megan pouted, crossing her arms.

The twins went over to her & gave her a hug. "Bye, Meggie."

"Bye guys. See you after school." Megan waved as they walked out the door. Then she turned to Roy. "Can I bring my notebooks with me?"

"Sure Meg. Go ahead upstairs & make sure you have everything." Roy told her.

Megan jumped up. "Okay, I'll get the list."

Megan, it turns out, loves to write. She has a thick notebook filled with poems & short stories &, lastly, a list of things Dr. Lesser had given her before going to Dublith.

She trotted back down with a small blue bag. You could see her two bears poking out of the top. "Okay, I got my travel bag." she stated.

"Did you name your bears?" I asked her.

Megan nodded. "Yeah, but their names are really long."

"Will you tell us?" I questioned, pulling the blue one out & handing it to her.

"Alright. The blue one's name is Azul Plava Blauw Bleu Blau Albastry. Azul for short. Whenever you get right down to it, you're really just saying his name is Blue said six times. All those words just mean 'blue.'"

"Oh really? Did your dad teach you all that?" Roy wondered.

Megan nodded, making her twin ponytails bounce. "The red one's name is Rosu Rojo Crvena Rood Rouge Rot Rosso. Which all mean 'red.' Rosu or Rose for short."

"You're pretty smart for such a little girl." Roy commented.

"You really think so?" Megan asked happily. "Thanks. I like proving that I know stuff that even adults might not know."

"Come on, we need to go now." I stated, patting Megan's shoulder. She jumped out of her seat, grabbed her bag & went to stand by the door & wait for me & Roy.


	9. Meg Joins the Crowd

**Aqua's POV  
**We were walking home from school which went fairly well because Robin wasn't there she probably got in trouble for causing trouble. As we were walkng home we walked by the pet store and they were selling St. Bernard puppies for 75% percent off Flannery and I suddenly stopped to look at them.

"C'mon guys we've got to get home" Griffon said.

"We'll be there" Flannery said.

"Yea we just want to buy these puppies" I said pointing to black and white puppies in the windows.

"You can't be serious. You guys already have a dog Black Hayate remember?" Griffon said folding her arms across her chest.

"I know but Black Hayate is mommy's dog we want doggies of our own" Flannery said.

"You can't be serious" Griffon said. "Do you know how big St. Bernards get?"

"They get pretty big but that what makes them special" Flannery said.

"Yea now don't be such a meaner and come inside with us" I said.

"How do you girls pull me into these things?" Griffon said quietly as she walked inside with us.

"How can I help you ladies?" The pet seller said.

"Yes we'd like to buy those black and white puppies in the window" I said pointing to them

"Ah yes those are our most entergetic puppies you'll love them" The pet seller said stepping from behind the counter and picking up two puppies. She handed Flannery a white puppy with a black spot over it's right eye and me a black puppy with a white spot over it's left eye.

"Will that be all?" The pet seller said.

"Uh we'll take some beds, some puppy food, some leashes and some toys" Flannery said.

"Okay then I'll be right back" The pet seller said walking into the back room.

"How are you going to explain to your parents that you bought puppies?" Griffon said.

"You know our parents love little doggies" I said. "And besides who can say no to these faces?" I said. I put the puppy next to Griffon's face and he started licking her face which made Griffon giggle.

"Okay they are kinda cute. Do you know what you're going to name them?" Griffon said.

"I'm going to name mine Goliath" I said. "It'll mak him seem tough" I said.

"What about you Flannery?" Griffon asked.

"I like Sampson" Flannery said.

"Sampson?" Me and Griffon questioned

"Well when I name things I like to look at them first. He looks like a Sampson to me" Flannery said with a shrug.

"You are so weird" Aqua said. Then the pet seller came back with the items we asked for.

"Okay this is everything that will be 86.94" The pet seller said.

"You got it?" I asked Flannery

"Yea" Flannery said reaching into her purse for wallet. She pulled out the money and paid for the things and then we left.

"Okay I know I'm going to regret asking this but where'd you get all that money?" Griffon said carrying some of the bags.

"Poker with Havoc and the boys" I said with a shrug.

"Huh I'll have to look into that" Griffon arrived home and the car wasn't there so we were off the hook for now.

"We better take the puppies upstairs for a nap" Flannery we got the puppies comfortable we came downstairs just as Mommy, Daddy, Megan came through the door.

"Hey Baby girl!" Griffon said as Meg ran into her arms. "How was your day?"

"It was great! I met Havoc and the others! And Mr. Hughes and the big Sparkly man!" Meg said.

"Major Armstrong..." I said shivering slightly. It was a known fact that I did not like Armstrong a man that big should not be sparkling like that it just wasn't natural!

"Oh girls by the way your grandfather invited us all to a game of golf at the country club" Mommy said.

"Yes! Time to start working on my back swing!" I said. "I am so kicking your butt this time Flannery!"

"We'll see about that Aquanette. Our gold score is 2 to 2 next match wins" Flannery said.

"Which will be me" I said.

"Oh mommy, daddy we have something to tell you" Flannery said.

"What is it?" Daddy said.

Sampson and Goliath ran downstairs and jumped into our arms.

"We got puppies" I said.

"Can we keep them? They're really cute and we paid for them" Flannery said.

"You paid for them they must have cost a fortune" Daddy said petting Sampson's head.

"No there was sale" Flannery said.

"Well since you paid for them we can't say no" Mommy said. "As long as you take good care of them"

"We will. Told ya Griffon" I said smirking.

"Shut up" Griffon said putting her hand on hip that wasn't holding Med

I laughed & took Megan from her, setting Goliath on the floor. "So, Meg, what'd you name your teddies?"

"The red one's name is Rosu Rojo Crvena Rood Rouge Rot Rosso, & the blue one is Azul Plava Blauw Bleu Blau Blu Albastry. Rosu & Azul for short." Megan answered.

"So, Red & Blue?" Griffon asked her sister. "Not very creative for you, but, seeing as how you used the words taught to us, I can give you _some_ credit."

"What are you talking about?" I wondered, spinning Megan around in a circle.

Griffon stopped us. "Rosu, rojo, crvena, rood, rouge, rot, & rossu are all different words that mean the same thing: red. The same for azul, plava, blauw, bleu, blau, blu, & albastry, only they mean 'blue.'"

"Oh, wow you're smart for a little kiddie." I commented, looking at Meg.

Flannery smiled, "You guys probably learned that from you parents."

"Yep, papa taught me all the stuff they don't know about in school." Meg stated. "I got the brains of a fifth grader, & I'm only in second."

Flannery set Sampson down & took her from me. "What's three squared?"

"Nine, duh. Could you ask an easier question." Meg answered quickly.

"Excuse her, she read middle school textbooks in her spare time while at the hospital." Griffon told us before Goliath jumped on her. "Oh, you're a feisty little doggy, aren't you?"

"See? You know you love them." I laughed.

Griffon glared at me. "Of course I love them. I love all animals." She stepped closer & whispered. "I kinda have to, with my gift & all."

"Are you talking about alchemy again, Gigi?" Meg wondered, placing her index finger on her chin. "I thought papa told you not to use it until we found out how you could do it."

"Baby girl, I haven't used any alchemy since papa told me not to." Griffon lied. "Shh, okay."

Meg crossed her arms. "You didn't tell them, did you? See, you never tell anyone the important details." She suddenly changed the subject, turning to daddy. "Uncle Roy, we left my bag in the car."

Griffon went to the door. "I'll get it, sis."

**Flannery's POV  
**After we got home I took Meg upstairs to tuck her in.

"Good night Meg" I said. I kissed her forehead and began to stand up.

"Cousin Flannery wait" Megan said sitting up.

"What is it sweetie?" I said sitting down on her bed again.

"Can you tell me a bed time story?" Megan said.

"Of course I can" I said with a smile. "What do you want to hear?"

"The first thing that comes to your mind" Megan said.

"Okay then" I knew exactly what story to tell her. "Once upon a time there was a girl who just turned 16 and she worked at a noodle shop" I said.

"A noodle shop?" Meg said confused.

"Uh-huh see since she was a girl she couldn't a job anywhere except cooking or cleaning and she was pretty good cook so she became a noodle chef. Anyway there was this boy and he was 17 but he was no ordinary 17 year old" I said.

"How so?" Megan said.

"Well his left eye was red and his right orange" I said pointing to my eyes as I said that.

"How did that happened?" Megan said.

"Well he did a lot of training Megan and then he developed new powers that caused an alchemic reaction. It gave him the power of clairvoyance and telekensis" I explained

"Wow that's amazing" Megan said.

"I know. Even though he helped the town they lived over and over again he was considered a devil because of his eyes and the alchemy he practiced" I said.

"Well that's not nice" Megan said.

"I know it's not but he still continued to help them anyway. One day the girl was being chased by bandits and the boy came to save her. He used his powers and alchemy to save her and beat the bandits up" I said.

"Yay!" Megan said.

"Then they fell in love and got married" I said.

"Really?" Megan said.

"Uh-huh and shortly after their marriage they had two twin girls named Emelina and Maria" I said.

"Those are really pretty names" Megan said.

"Yea and then a few weeks later they found out that their twins inherited their father's powers. Emelina had clairvoyance that caused her right eye to turn white with a black pupil and Maria had telekenisis that caused her left eye to turn black with a white pupil. Then since they all had alchemy they trained together day in and day out together and had all the fun in the world" I said.

"Wow Flannery that's a really nice story. You'll have to tell me another one someday" Megan said yawning.

"Don't worry Meg I will just get some sleep okay?" I kissed her forehead, tucked her in, turned off the light. I walked into my room and looked the door. I sat down in front of my vainty mirror. I clapped my hands together and placed one of my hands over my right eye. My eye turned white with a black pupil and a black sun around it and some veins popped up around my eye. It was my all seeing clairvoyant eye that I've had since birth when I was alone I always changed it to 'recharge' it so to say. No one knew about this except mysister cause she had one too except the opposite.

**Aqua's POV  
**I was sitting on the back porch watching Flannery practice this move she's been working for about 2 years. It was called the soaring Pheonix after my biological father the fiery Pheonix alchemist. It was really cool and it took a very speical person to do it. They had to get the head circulating through them and them flip into the air creating rings heat and then land hard on the ground creating a huge ring of heat that stop the enemy from escaping. Since Flannery ran track and was darn good at it she had the flip right because she got the push off right because of her legs but she always sucked at the landing. Sometimes she landed on her butt, on her side, on her stomach and face, but when she landed on her feet she always slipped. It was so funny.

"Okay Aquanette I think I finally got it" Flannery said standing up for the 12th time.

"So you say" I said boredly.

"Okay here I go. Soaring Phoenix rise!" Flannery said jumping into the air creating the rings of Solar energy which came out pretty good. Once she got to the top she lost her balance and fell to the ground "Ah!" She said as she hit the ground with a loud thud. Face first.

"You okay sis?" I asked.

"Yea...pride's a little struck but I'll live" Flannery said standing up and brushing her face off I noticed there was blood on her cheek and knee.

"Hey Flan you're bleeding" I said standing up.

"I don't care! I have to get this move down! If I don't then I'll be an horrible warrior not able to get my moves down and protect others" Flannery exclaimed. "Now if you'll excuse me I have some Solar moves to work on" Flannery said turning around and starting to perform some her Solar Alchemy.

"Wow Flannery you are one of a kind" I said shaking my head.

"Hey Aquanette what's going on?" Griffon said walking out and sitting down next to me.

"Flannery practicing this move it's kinda funny to her land on her face" I said with a shrug.

"You know that's kinda wrong right? I would never want to see my sister get hurt" Griffon said.

"Yea I know and I don't want Flannery to get hurt either but when she's doing it to herself like this it's kinda funny" I said with a small smile.

"Ugh!" Flannery said as she hit the ground again. She slammed her fist against the ground and stood up to take off.

"Poor thing she is never going to get it right" Griffon said.

"She's been trying every month for 2 years" I said.

"Poor thing" Griffon said.

"I know but she'll get it but we better stop her before she bleeds to death" I said standing up

"Right" Griffon said standing up with me. We walked over to Flannery who was lying on her back.

"How ya doing the kid?" I said looking down at her.

"Still the same" Flannery said with her eyes closed.

"How's the pride?" I asked.

"Damaged beyond repair" Flannery said tightning her eyes.

"Don't worry Flannery you're a great fighter I'm sure you'll get it" Griffon said as she helped Flannery up.

"Thanks" Flannery said with her eyes open walked inside and Megan was eating lunch with Mommy and Daddy.

"Flannery the soaring Phoenix again?" Daddy said with a groan.

"I can't help it! I have to get it right!" Flannery said whining

"That's alright Flannery let's get the band-aids" Mommy said as Flannery hopped on the counter. "You need to be more careful honey you're lucky you haven't broke something" Mommy said as she wipped the wounds.

"I haven't broken anything because I somewhat know what I'm doing" Flannery said with a shrug.

"Just promise me you won't practice this move until all of these wounds heal" Mommy said putting a band-aid on her forehead. "Okay all done" Mommy said kissing her forehead. "And no more soaring phoenix"

"Yes ma'am" Flannery said.

**Flannery's POV  
**I got dressed in a burgundy t-shirt, orange plaid shorts, and red sneakers. I was tying my hair up in a high ponytail when Megan ran into my room.

"Cousin Flannery are you almost ready to go to the country club?" Megan said. She was so excited to go into the country club.

"Almost honey I'm just putting my hair up." I said putting my hair bow in. "Megan I have something for you" I said walking over to my closet.

"Really?" Megan said sitting on my bed.

"Uh-huh it's going to be warm today so I got you a sun hat" I said putting a cream colored hat on her.

"Thank you cousin Flannery" Megan said.

"You're very welcome. Why don't you go wait for me in the living room?" I said.

"Okay!" She hopped off my bed and ran out.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed a number and then put it to my ear.

"Yo" Alex said.

"What have I told you about saying 'yo' to me. You can do it to everyone else except me" I said.

"I'm sorry babe force of habit. So what's up?" Alex said.

"I was just calling to make sure that you and the boys were still coming to eat lunch with us and our grandfather at the county club" I said.

"Of course I get off work in about an hour and a half. Marth and I will go home get dress, pick up Thatch and come right over" Alex said.

"Okay make sure to dress nice" I said.

"Don't worry babe I got it. I'll talk to you later" Alex said.

"Okay bye" I said hanging up. I grabbed my bag with my extra clothes in it and walked into the living room where the others were.

"You ready for this butt kicking Flannery?" Aqua said.

"Oh you wish Aquanette." I said rolling my eyes.

"C'mon girls" Daddy said

We arrived at the country club and Grandpa Grumman and Major Armstrong was standing out front...That did not make Aquanette happy.

"Grandpa Grumman!!" Aqua and I yelled as we got out of the car.

"Hello girls are you ready for a great round of golf?" Grandpa said.

"Yea!" We said.

"Oh Grandfather this is Griffon and Megan they're our cousins" Aqua said breaking away from the hug.

"Hello Grandfather!" Megan said.

"Megan you know the General isn't our Grandfather" Griffon said.

"Oh c'mon now! We're all family here" Grandpa said giving them a hug.

"Uh thank you?" Griffon said confused.

"Well let's get inside and get this golfing done!" Grandpa walked inside and Grandpa gave us our golf clubs. We weren't aloud to keep them in the house because Daddy was afraid we were going to break things with them or each rented golf carts it was me, Aqua, Griffon and Meg in one with me driving and the adults in another one. We arrived at the first whole it was a Par 3 meaning it was pretty short. I could easily get a hole in one over Aquanette no problem.

"Okay Aquanette why don't you go first?" Grandpa said.

"Sure" Aqua said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a blue golf ball and tee and placed them on the ground. She took a good look around, whineded it back and hit ball. She hit and it landed near the hole but it didn't go in. "Oh yea! Beat that red head."

I said nothing and simply reached into my golf bag and pulled out a pink golfball and red tee placed them in the ground. I whineded it back and let go and hit the ball. It went higher, farther, and faster than Aquanette's plus I got the first whole in one of the game. "Nothing to it" I said.

"Darn it!" Aqua said almost breaking her club.

We played 9 holes we were going to play 18 but we had Megan with us and Mom didn't want her to get too hot. I won of course but Aqua came close only two more strokes and she would have beat me. Griffon and Armstrong tied for third, Mommy and Daddy of course didn't play because Mommy wanted to sit with Megan and Daddy didn't like golf all that much. So after golfing Aqua, Griffon and I went to the bathroom to change. Aqua got dressed in a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown flip flop. Griffon got dressed in a green polo shirt, Capri pants, and black flip flops, I got dressed in a red shirt with three quarter sleeves, a jean skirt, and black wedge heels. We waited outside until the boys' car pulled up and they stepped out.

"Hey" I said wrapping my arms around Alex's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Hey" Alex said. I took his hand and we all walked inside and my daddy had that mean look on his face that he got whenever he saw the boys. We sat down and our grandfather quickly started to ask questions.

"Hello boys I'm the girls Grandfather" Grandpa said.

"Nice to meet you sir" Marth said.

"So you are Marth, you are Alexander, and you are Thatcher" Grandpa said.

"Yes sir" Alex said.

"Alexander I hear from Flannery you want to go into the military after high school" Grandpa said.

"Yes sir been my dream for as long as I can remember" Alex said.

"That's wonderful. Marth what about you?" Grandpa said.

"I hope to go into medical school for open heart surgery. Maybe a military doctor" Marth said with a shrug.

"That's great too. Thatcher what about you?" Grandpa said.

"I pretty much like what I'm doing now volentering at the hospital and such" Thatch said with a shrug.

"Oh you've got some good ones here Roy! They'll make great husbands for the girls!" Grandpa said causing all three of us girls to blush like lunch we walked the boys back to their car.

"Hey I'm sorry about my grandfather he's just really weird like that" I said with shrug.

"It's no problem I like the old coot he's kinda cool" Alex said with a smirk.

I let out a giggle. "Yea he's really nice. So I'll see you next week at the military ball?" I said.

"You know it. I'll see you later" He gave me a small kiss and climbed into his car and drove off.

**Megan's POV**

The next day, the older kids said they would take me to the park, but I knew they would be a little paranoid. So I had a little trouble in hot temperatures, as long as I had my bag, I would be just fine. Well, until we do go, I decided to just sit at my desk & work. I hadn't started school yet, so I don't think it can actually be considered work when you're doing it for fun.

I was writing a story about twin sisters with special gifts. One had power over darkness & the other could control the light. In the story, they are forced to face off with each other to protect humanity, but an innocent kid, who might not be so innocent, could save them with the help of his friends & the aid of the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen could help anyone in any situation, though she's only a kid herself. It my first work of fiction, for I prefer writing historical fiction.

Aqua came in & I turned around. "Hey, munchkin, what'cha doing?"

I smiled. "Just working on my first fictional story. Is it time to go?"

"Yeah, just let me get Goliath's leash. You have a stain on your dress, so could you put on something clean?" Aqua stated, pointing to a grape juice stain on my favourite blue sundress.

"Okay, I'll get something else." I told her. I stood up & picked out an outfit. I had a blue shirt, red shorts, & purple sneakers. One shoe had red laces & the other had blue. I put a purple headband in my hair & put in a pair of purple stud earrings with a matching necklace. To finish it off, I pulled a red bangle bracelet on my right wrist & a blue one on my left.

"Must you wear such crazy outfits?" Griffon asked from the doorway, making me jump. "You're starting to remind me of a miniature Flannery."

"It's the Mustang blood." I said proudly. Mom may have taken her adoptive parents' name before she got married, but I knew I was a Mustang: loud & proud.

Griffon picked up my bag & tossed it to me. "The twins aren't Mustangs, you know? They just took the name when they were adopted."

I frowned. "You take things way too seriously."

"And you're way too smart & short for a girl your age." Griffon told me, smirking. "C'mon. Before we leave without you."

I ran out & slid down the banister to the door. "You will not!" I yelled.

Flannery & Aqua came in with Sampson & Goliath. "Will not what?" They asked.

"Leave without me." I answered.

Griffon slid down the banister, snickering all the way. "Come on, baby girl, you know we wouldn't leave you."

"Why do you refuse to take the stairs down like a normal person?" Flannery asked her.

"Who cares? Let's go." Griffon jumped to her feet &, though a little shaky, bolted for the door.

I sighed, "You never can do as the doctor says, can you?" I knew she wouldn't hear me, but I just wanted to ask.

"Are you talking about how they said she's not supposed to run?" Aqua asked. "'Cause she does it all the time."

I shook my head as we all walked out to join Griffon. "Is it any wonder she ended up the way she did."

When we got to the park, wonder of wonders, we ran into some of Griffon's friends. "Hey there, Princess." One of them called, he was holding a girls's hand in each of his. One was his age & one was mine.

"Grant, how many times do I have to tell you 'Don't call me Princess?'" Griffon yelled.

"Sis, who are these guys?" I asked. Then I turned to the one I knew. "Hey, Thatch."

"Baby girl, these are the school's biggest clowns. Grant, Simon & Travis, & Grant's girlfriend, Lilian or Lil & Grant's little sister, Frida. Guys, this is my little sister, Megan." She pointed to each person as she said their name.

"Uh, guys, where's Isaac?" Grant asked, suddenly a little panicked.

He & Travis started tearing across the park looking for 'Isaac.' Simon took his glasses off & wiped them with his shirttail. "He's over there." Simon called to them, pointing to a big oak tree. The boys ran over & started looking for him. "Look up, you morons."

"I can't believe he lost his brother." Thatch commented with a sigh. "It's just sad, considering this is the fourth time today. The kid loves freaking Grant out."

I laughed as I watched Grant climb up the oak & come back down with a boy draped over his shoulder. He trotted over & placed the boy down in front of me. Wow, he had the most stunning green eyes I've ever seen. Aside from my papa's, of course.

"H-hi, I'm Isaac." The boy held out a hand.

I took it & smiled. "Hey, my name's Megan."

Griffon bent down & put a hand on my shoulder. "How about you, Frida & Isaac go play?"

"Um, okay." Isaac said. "Wanna play in the treetops?"

"Sure." I agreed, I handed her my bag & turned back to Isaac & Frida. We ran back to the oak & raced to the top.

We played for a long time up in the trees, we even found branches leading to other trees. I don't even like heights - cliché, my last name's Heights - but it was really fun now that I had someone to play with.

Eventually, we had to leave. "How'd you like playing with Grant's little siblings?" Griffon asked.

"It was great. I think I'm getting over my fear of heights." I told her.

"Cliché." Flannery stated quietly. What'd I tell ya? It's a total cliché, in my mind, at least & apparently hers.

"Well, I talked to Grant. Turns out you three are in the same grade." Griffon informed me. "Isn't that great? You have class with Isaac."

"Uh. Yeah. I'm just a kid, don't try hooking me up, sis. Hey, where am I supposed to go for the Military Ball?" I asked them. "I can't go, I'm just a little kid. I wouldn't go if I could."

"We'll see what we can do." Aqua picked up Goliath. "While we can't leave you alone, we can always give you a guard dog for the night."

Tomorrow - first day of second grade. Me, totally nervous. Griffon & the twins, acting like everything is a bucket of rainbows. To keep my mind off of it, I practically glued myself to my desk & wrote. I was so close to finishing the first chapter in my story, since I write really fast.

_Scratch. Scratch. _I looked up from my notebook. "What was that?" I asked aloud.

I looked around the room. _Scratch. Scratch._ I breathed a sigh of relief, the window. I lifted it up & a small white kitten hopped in.

"Hello there, pretty kitty." I smiled, petting it.

A knock came at the door. "Meg, it's time to eat." Uncle Roy called.

"Okay, I'll be right there." I yelled back. I picked up the kitten & put it on my bed. "Stay right here. I'll bring you some food later." I closed the window & left the room.

I would worry about what to do with it later, but I remembered a small kitten that used to hang around our cottage before a was forced into that stupid hospital bed. Even though I was really little, I always fed it, as a sign of appreciation to Gigi & her alchemy. I never did find out what happened to it.


	10. Robin's Taste of Her Own Medicine

**Griffon's POV  
**Aqua, Thatch, and I were working on our biology project in class. Robin was back the daddy's girl was in trouble with her father again for causing trouble with the whole lunchroom thing.

"Okay everyone stop for a moment we've got some chemical bonding to do" The teacher said. "Aquanette will you please come up and pass out the papers" The teacher said.

"Yes ma'am" Aqua said standing up. She walked up to the front and took the papers and started passing them out. I looked over and saw Robin with a smirk on her face. She had something planned. "Here you go Robby poo enjoy" Aqua said before starting to walk off.

"You know Aquanette I'm tired of this petty little thing between us" Robin said standing up.

"You really want to go through this now Robin" Aqua said turning back to face her. Robin started clenching something around something in her hand. What was she going to do.

"I just want to make some clear right now in front of everyone" Robin said stepping closer

"And what is that?" Aqua said. Suddenly out of nowhere Robin whined back her fist and punched Aqua across the face and Aqua fell to the floor with a large thud. Now normally Aquanette wouldn't have fallen so easily from a punch like that. She would staggered back yes but not fallen. Thatch and I ran to Aquanette's side and the left side of her face was bleeding from four holes under her eye. I looked up and Robin had brass knuckles in her hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You could have killed her!" I said standing up.

"Good! I can stand that fake blonde anymore. I don't want to kil her I just want her in a coma!" Robin said.

"You are so dead once Flannery finds out" I said.

"Ha! Little miss perfect isn't going to do anything to me" Robin said.

"How is she Thatch?" I said kneeling down to Aqua again.

"She's unconscious but her eyes are still open for some reason" Thatch said. "You go get Flannery I'll stay with Aquanette"

"Right" I said standing up. I ran out with out even asking the teacher I knew she wouldn't mind. Flannery was in chorus right now I busted right in without even knocking on the door.

"Yes can I help you?" The chorus teacher said.

"Yes Flannery Mustang is needed right away there's been an emergency!" I said.

"Flannery" The chorus teacher walked out into the hallway.

"Griffon what's wrong?" Flannery asked.

"Robin punched Aquanette across the face with brass knuckles and now she hurt!" I said.

"Where?" Flannery said.

"In the bio lab" I said.

"C'mon!" Flannery said. She grabbed my hand and we ran toward the bio lab together. We ran into the lab and more Aqua's blood was on the floor it looked like Robin got a few more punches in when we left but the bottom of her face was wrapped up.

"Aquanette!" Flannery said. She took no hesitation of kneeling down in Aqua's blood. "Aqua honey you need to wake up! Aqua listen to me you idiot! If you don't wake up you can't breathe and if you can't breathe you'll be gone forever and I refuse to lose you like this! Your stronger than this! You've faced death so many different times! And you will be branded for life if you die like this!" Flannery said yelling at her.

"I'm...not...dead...yet...you...loser" Aqua said breathing in between each word.

"Aquanette thank goodness" Flannery said. Then she stood up and walked over to Robin and pushed her hard against the teacher's desk which caused her to fall. "If you ever come near my sister again I will without a second thought bust your head open" Flannery said glaring at Robin. "Thatch will you help get Aquanette to the hospital" Flannery said.

"Of course" Thatch of course called Uncle Roy and Aunt Riza. Aunt Riza stayed with Megan in the lobby and Uncle Roy came into Aqua's room. Once they controlled all of the bleeding Aqua's face was swollen so bad and she had a black eye on her left eye. She looked like she just in so much pain and she didn't do anything.

"How did this happen?" Uncle Roy asked

"THey were talking about something I couldn't really here it and then out of nowhere Robin punches of across the face with brace knuckles" Thatch said

"It hurts so bad" Aqua said crying slightly.

"I know honey and we're going to get to the bottom of this Major or now Statel needs to control his daughter" Uncle Roy said.

"We've been through this with her over and over again but she just won't stop" Flannery said.

"Well she's going to have to stop soon this is assult she could get into some real trouble for this" Uncle ROy said.

"You mean like jail?" I asked.

"Yes Griffon Robin attacked Aquanette even Aquanette didn't do anything to her first that's grounds for assult and with a deadly weapn. The report did say that she used soome of knuckles right?" Uncle Roy said.

"Yea Brass knuckles" Thatch said.

"How do you feel about this Aquanette it's all you descion" Uncle Roy said

"I don't want to do anything until I get better daddy. My face hurts so bad and my eyelids are so swollen I can barely see" Aqua said with her hands on her face.

"Alright then Aquanette we don't have to do anything until you don't want to" Uncle Roy said. "I'm going to go check on your mom and Megan do you need anything.

"Not right now" Aqua said.

"Okay I'll be right back" Uncle Roy said standing up and out. When he left Flannery started pulling out her camera and taking pictures.

"Flannery what're you doing?" I asked.

"I'm creating evidence" Flannery said putting the camera away. "She is not going to get away with this." Flannery said.

**Roy's POV  
**Sometimes I feel like we're living out of this hospital. I walked into Aqua'sroom where she was sitting up sketching a picture. It was a few days after the accident as one would call it Aqua's face swell down a little but not a could see a little better but because of her eye condition it would take awhile.

"Hey sport how ya doing?" I said as I poked my head through the door frame.

"Daddy? What're you doing here?" Aqua said looking up from her sketch.

"I came to visit you of course" I said walking in.

"But shouldn't you be at work?" Aqua said.

"I had to come and see you. I bought you something" I said.

"What is it?" Aqua said.

"This" I said. I removed Aqua's mosse from my back. She let out a happy gasp.

"My moose!" Aqua said. I placed it next to her and sat down in the chair.

"I was informed this morning that Robin was taken into custody by military police this morning" I said.

"Really now?" I said.

"Yea like I said before Aquanette she assulted you and she's two years older than you she could be charged as an adult" I said.

"Daddy I've made my descion" Aqua said.

"What is it?" I said.

"I want to testify against Robin and her family. Once all the swelling goes down I'm willing to testify in court. I didn't talk to her for about two weeks and then she just attacks me out of nowherer" Aqua said.

"That's a very good descion Aq. Don't worry we'll get to bottom of this." I said putting my hand on my shoulder.

"They should pay for my medical bills and 2,000 dollars in pain and suffering." Aqua said.

"You're right like I said we'll work on it have to get a lawyer and everything." I said.

"Yea I guess so" Aqua said.

"Well I have get back to work now I'll pick up your sister and your cousin after work and then we'll come see you later" I said standing up.

"Okay bye daddy. I love you" Aqua said smiling somewhat.

"I love you too sport make sure to get lots of rest okay?" I said.

"Yes sir" Aqua said before I walked out.

**Griffon's POV**

"I'm dead if anyone catches me." I whispered to myself, lifting the window & jumping to the ground.

It was the middle of the night, of course I would get in trouble if I was caught, by Uncle Roy or anyone else. I walked down the street to Central Library. I had to see my father's report. I knew there was something familiar about what happened to Aqua.

I knew my way around there from top to bottom, so I could easily bypass any & all security systems. I was feeling very proud of myself by the time I actually got in. I pulled out my pocket flashlight & began looking through the First Branch, where they kept the military reports.

"Okay. Where's my dad's record?" I mumbled, walking along the shelves. I stopped & pulled one out. "Aha, found it."

I flipped it open. I was looking for the photos, from after his body was sent back home to be buried. I don't remember what happened, I forgot on purpose. That's why I needed those photos. They were taken for the file, so I knew they were here.

I gasped at the photos. The left side of his face was beaten raw. I looked at the report carefully.

He had been beaten & had bled to death. Suspected weapon used? Brass knuckles.

I knew there was a reason I didn't look at the casket at the funeral. The result was way worse than what Robin had done to Aqua. The person who found his body was…Stately? Robin's _dad_ was the one to find my father! Wasn't dad always filing harassment reports against Stately? I don't think an Ishbalan did this to my father, I think it was Stately.

I took out a camera & made copies of everything. "You know for a fact you shouldn't be here." A small, shaky voice said in a loud whisper.

I turned around. "Megan? I thought everyone was asleep."

"No, I saw you leave." Megan stated. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Papa wasn't killed by an Ishbalan." I told her in a harsh tone. "It was Mr. Stately."

Megan was crying now. She didn't like thinking about papa's death. "No, they worked together. He couldn't have killed papa."

"If you didn't want to know, than you shouldn't have asked." I hissed. "He hated papa for having a higher ranking, even more so once he got to befriend Uncle Roy. Mr. Stately was also the only one known who owned brass knuckles at the time. He was the one who found papa's body. He would've been the last one to see him alive, & when papa died, he received papa's ranking."

"Papa never did anything to provoke him." Megan argued. "Why would he want to kill papa?"

I knelt down & gave her a hug. "That doesn't matter. We need to get home before anyone notices."

I picked her up & carried her home. We went in through my window, which I had left open, & I tucked her back into bed. "Good night, baby girl." I put a finger to my lips. "And remember, no one is to hear about this."

Megan nodded & I got up to leave. _Meow._ I turned back. A white kitten crawled out from under her bed & sat beside her, curling up in a ball & going to sleep. "What is that?"

"It's Anxo Branco Puro. He climbed in through my window." Megan answered with a yawn. "I'm sleepy."

"Okay, good night. I'll keep your little Angel a secret." I informed her. When translated, the kitten's name was 'Pure White Angel.' How cute.

I hid my camera & climbed into bed. It was a long night, I didn't even want to think about how Meggie had gotten into the library when it was under tight security nowadays. She was young, little, & practically straight out of the hospital. I thought about something else instead: Papa.

What if I was right with my crazy suspicions? What if Stately did kill my father & Robin was following in her father's footsteps, attacking her enemy? Why did Stately hate papa? Why did Robin hate Aqua? What on Earth would make Robin want to do this?

**Riza's POV  
**We were walking through the courthouse. Today was the day of Aquanette's courtcase. Her face was still a little swollen just mainly her cheeks and she stillhad a bruise under her eyes. We walked in and sat down on the plantiff side the Statelys were on the other side and weren't even looking at us.

"Now that all the parties all here we can start." The judge said. "In the case230-6G Mustang vs. Stately charges are assult and battery will a miss Maria Mustang please come to the stand" The judge said. Looks like he was running this case.

"Yes sir" Aqua said straightning out her skirt. She slowly made her way to thestand because she couldn't see all the well. She went behind the stand and satdown. The bailiff came up with a bible.

"Do you promise to speak the truth, the whole, and nothing but the truth" The bailiff said.

"Yes sir" Aqua said.

"Ms. Mustang how did that whole day begin?" The Stately's lawyer said.

"Well we had a project in biology I was working with my partners my cousinGriffon Heights and Thatcher Lesser. The teacher announced we were going to do some chemical bonding and she wanted me to pass out some papers. So I went tothe front to pass the papers and I went to Robin's desk and she startingsaying some things I can't remember off the top of my head and then all of asudden out of nowhere she punched me across the face and I felt something sharp go into my face which caused me to fall to the floor. I heard my cousin go to look for my sister and then while Thatcher and the teacher looked for a first aid kit Ms. Stately then proceeded to punch me in the face three moretime before some older boys pulled her off of me. Then I passed out" Aqua said.

"Ms. Mustang have you any perivous infractions with Ms. Stately in the pastsay 3 weeks?" The lawyer said.

"3 weeks? No I wouldn't say so. See I wanted to go out with my friends that week and my Daddy said that if I got in any sort of trouble then I couldn't go. So I tried my best to stir clear of Ms. Stately" Aqua said.

"I see and Ms. Mustang do you have proof of what happened that day" The lawyer said with a smirk.

"Yes sir I do. My twin sister Flan- I mean Emelina excuse me. My twin sister Emelina took pictures of myself and the crime scene." Aqua said handing someof the pictures to the judge and the lawyer.

"Uh no further questions your honor" The lawyer said before handing thepictures back to Aquanette.

"Young lady I would like to ask you some questions" The judge said.

"Of course your honor" Aqua said.

"Where exactly were you hit?" The judge asked.

"Once under the left eye that's how I got the black eye, twice on the rightcheek, and once on the forehead." Aqua said pointing to the spots on her face.

"And all these hits caused the swelling on your face" The judge said.

"Yes sir" Aqua said.

"What do you hope to gain from this?" The judge asked.

"My medical bills which is about 50,000 another 2,500 for pain and sufferingand an apology" Aqua said.

"And what makes you think that you need that much for pain and suffering?" The judge said.

"Well your honor, Ms. Stately struck me just below both of my eyes and I havea preexsisting eye condition that I was born with called Retinites Pigmentosamy dad had it. I could very well go blind in a few years and I could not seewhen Ms. Stately struck and when most of the swelling went down I could stillbarely see everything's a little blurry now even with my glasses. If something were to go wrong in the future I want some money so I can eye surgery sir"Aqua explained.

"I see that seems like a very compeling argument. You may step down young lady" The judge said.

"Thank you your honor" Aqua said. She stood up and sat down next to me. "How did I do mommy?"

"You did great honey" I said.

After all of the witness were questioned the judge made his descion.

"In the case of Mustang vs. Stately I found favor in the plaintiff Ms. Maria Aquanette Wynter Hope Mustang and Ms. Robin Vienna Stately is found guilty of assult and battery with a deadly weapon and is sentinced to 5 years in acounty prison and the stately family we pay all of Ms. Mustang's future medical bills and will pay her pain and suffering amount of 2,500 good day" The judge said panging his gavel.

"Yes!" Aqua said jumping up! "Ow!" She said quickly grabbing her face.

Alright now let's get you back home and get some rest it's been enough excitefor the day." I said putting my hands on her shoulders.

"Oh yea I guess I did get to excited" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Cousin Aquanette why is your name so long?" Megan said tugging at Aqua's skirt. Aqua picked her up

"Because little munchkin my name is very speical" Aqua said. "Do you likeit?"

"Yea! It's really pretty!" Megan said.

"Thank you sweet spirit" Aqua said smiling.

**Roy's POV  
**Today was the day that Megan was going to start elementary school. I had been through this before with the twins and they were a lot more nervous than her. I held her hand all the way to the main steps of the school.

"Uncle Roy I changed my mind I don't think I want to go I can just go to work with you and Auntie Riza I don't mind" Megan said.

"Megan everyone has to go to school and Aquanette will go back to school aftershe gets out of the hospital" I said.

"But both Flannery and Aqua are really good at school. What if the other kids don't like me?" Megan said.

"Everyone will like you Megan you have nothing to worry about." I said kneeling down in front of her. "You know I went through the same thing with the twins" I said.

"You did?" Megan said shocked. "But I thought the twins liked school"

"Well they do now but shortly after your Aunt and I adopted them we had to enroll them here" I said.

~FLASHBACK!!!~

I was walking with the twins to the elementary school. Today was their first day and they were very nervous they were practically clung to my hands.

"Okay girls it's time to go inside" I said kneeling down in front of them.

"Daddy we don't want to do this anymore" Flannery said.

"Yea we want to go to headquarters with you and Mommy" Aqua said.

"Now girls we've been over this. Headquarters is no place for little Flannery if you have something to say don't be afraid to say it." I said knowing how she is. "And Aquanette don't be afraid if your sister's not there" I said knowing how she didn't like them seperated.

"Yes sir" The twins said sadly

"Daddy you're coming back right?" Aqua said.

"Of course honey. I can't just leave you girls here. Now be good and make sureto make lots of friends" I said standing up and ruffling their heads. "Bye girls."

"Bye Daddy!" The twins said smiling before they ran into the building

~FLASHBACK~

"Wow" Megan said shocked.

"Yep. So be good and make lots of friends" I said standing up saying the same thing I said to the twins that day.

"I will! Thank you Uncle Roy" Megan said hugging my leg before running inside the building.

"Ah the memories" I said smiling as I thought about the twins.

**Megan's POV  
**I knew Uncle Roy meant well, & I really love him as a part of my family. But I just knew that I would have trouble with schoolwork.

"Hello, little girl." A woman walking her class down the hall said. "Do you need some help?"

"It's my first day here, I need to find the second grade classroom." I answered. The woman took my hand.

"That's me. I'm Mrs. Hamlin, the second grade teacher." She smiled. "Our class just down the hall."

I looked behind me. Isaac & Frida were near the front of the line. "What are we working on?" I asked. "Where are you in the school year?"

"In math, multiplication." She explained. "We're writing short stories in language, worksheets in social studies & we're reading a novella. That's -"

"A book that is longer than a short story & shorter than a novel." I interrupted. "I know."

Mrs. Hamlin frowned. "You need to work on your attitude, young lady."

I jerked my hand free. "Yeah, sure, I'll do that."

We all got to the room & sat down. Mrs. Hamlin showed me to an empty desk at the front of the class. It had all of the books I would need inside, along with notebook paper to write on, two pencils & a sharpener. "All the desks get filled with the basic essentials." Mrs. Hamlin told me.

"Great." I looked at the board as Mrs. Hamlin started the lesson by handing out tests on the multiplication tables. All the assignments were written up there.

"Go!" Mrs. Hamlin yelled.

We turned our papers over & I could hear most of the kids struggling to remember the answers, while I breezed through the questions. I turned my paper back over & slid it to the corner of my desk, then slipped my math workbook out & worked on the assignment.

"Okay, pencils down." Mrs. Hamlin ordered after five minutes. "Pass your papers to the front."

I turned around in my seat to get the papers from the girl behind me. "Freak." she whispered. "I saw how quickly you finished. You're a freak."

I took the papers & turned back around, adding my test to the pile. I laid them on the corner of my desk & went back to the workbook.

"Miss Heights, I didn't explain the assignment." Mrs. Hamlin scolded. "You don't know how to do the problems."

I snapped the workbook closed & handed it to her. "Here, I'm finish anyway. By the way, I just started today, you don't know what I can or can't do."

Well, let's just say, I got in a lot of trouble for 'mouthing off' to the teacher. I fell asleep for the rest of math class, wouldn't read the novella since I had already read it…twice, I was apparently a model student in gym, so says Mr. Cunningham, I went to sleep again in language & simply put one of my short stories on the desk. I didn't mind if I didn't get it back, for I have a copy of it, just in case.

Now it was time for social studies. Mrs. Hamlin was about to go over a review of the lesson. I raised my hand. "Yes, Megan?"

"Can you just go ahead & give me my worksheet?" I asked, mentally groaning since I knew I sounded cocky.

Mrs. Hamlin nodded & handed me a worksheet. "If you don't understand it, don't blame me."

I scoffed quietly, the teacher really has no idea how smart I am. I filled everything out in record time. "Mrs. Hamlin." I raised my hand.

"What do you need help with?" Mrs. Hamlin asked.

I tried not to laugh. "I don't need help. I need to get something from my bag. May I?"

"Fine, since you asked." Mrs. Hamlin agreed.

I stood up & went to the closet, where all the kids had to put their bags. I reached into mine & pulled out my inhaler. I had to take it at certain times, whither I thought I needed it or not.

At the end of the day, I was relieved when she dismissed the people who were getting picked up by their parents. I grabbed my bag & left the room. Apparently, it was only me, the Briers & the girl who called me a freak.

"What's wrong with you, freak?" the girl snapped when we were in the hall.

Isaac grabbed mine & Frida's arms before I could answer & dragged us outside. "Don't talk to Sarah." He told me. "Her older brother got in big trouble & now she's blaming everyone for it, she's been sent to the office five times for beating kids up."

"Oh." I said softly.

"Hey, baby girl." Griffon called when I went up to her. "How was your first day?"

"It was great." I lied. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Nope." Griffon laughed. "It's different here. The high school students go to school earlier, but we get out a the same time. It's way different from the East City school district, but, hey, now I get to pick you up."

Grant & Flannery came up to us. "Hi, guys." I called.

"Hey, we would've been here sooner, but the halls got jammed." Grant apologized, picking his little sister up.

"That's okay, but Sarah called Meg a freak." Frida told him, covering her mouth. "Oopsie, I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"That Sarah needs to leave people alone." Grant commented.

That's basically what happened for the rest of the week, I mouthed off & finished the assignments ultra early, Sarah called me names & I ignored her, & Frida & Isaac became my best friends, along with a girl named Anya. The classes rotated gym, art, music, gym, art, music, etc. Those three classes were the only one I didn't have trouble with.

Friday, there was a big test in math & almost everyone was nervous. When I was handed my paper, it didn't have anything to do with what we went over. I just shrugged & went to work.

At the end of school, the teacher handed back the tests. I got a ninety-five. "Cool." I stated.

"Megan, can I see you for a second?" Mrs. Hamlin asked from her desk.

I stood up & went over to the cluttered desk. "Yes?"

"That test you took was borrowed from the fourth grade teacher." Mrs. Hamlin confessed with a sigh. She handed me an envelope. "Give this to your parents & don't open it." She turned to the class. "Pick-ups are dismissed."

I grabbed my bag & went home without waiting for Griffon. I went straight up to my room, where I was pounced on by Anxo. "Hello Anxo, I bet you're hungry." I grabbed the bag of cat food Griffon had bought from the shelf in my closet & pulled the food dish out from under the bed to fill it up.

"Megan, why'd you go home by yourself?" Flannery asked, coming into the room.

I quickly pushed everything under the bed & reached under as if looking for something. "I was sent home with a letter. It's by my inhaler." I told her.

Flannery pulled the letter out of my bag & opened it. "Okay, I'll make sure my dad sees it."

"Thanks, close the door on your way out." I called as she left. She didn't hear me, apparently. Anxo ran out of the room. "No, get back here. We have dogs in the house."

I chased Anxo down the stairs, until I ran into Alex. He was holding Anxo & rubbing the kitten's head. "Hey, Meg."

"Hi, Alex. Can I have Anxo back?" I asked. He obliged, putting the kitten in my arms.

"Anxo? That's a weird name." He commented.

I laughed, "It means angel."

"Really, that's pretty cool." Alex told me. "I didn't think you could have cats in here when you already have three dogs."

"Yeah, well, they get along." I answered nervously.

Alex chuckled, "Yeah, well, I think you n' me are the only ones who know about Anxo."

I shook my head. "Griffon knows too."

"Correction: The whole house is about to know." Flannery called from the top of the stairs.

I punched Alex in the arm. "Way to go dude."

"It's your cat." Alex reminded me, rubbing his arm. "Flannery, your cousin hits way too hard for an eight-year-old."

I shrugged & giggled, "I try."


	11. The Military Ball

**Aqua's POV  
**I was sleeping on the couch while everyone else was doing their own thing. Flannery, Griffon, Alex and Megan were playing in the backyard and Mommy and Daddy went to go get some groceries. I would have loved to do either but sadly because of that crazy person who's name will not be mentioned in this house ever tried to kill me I have to stay put and not over extert myself. I may not even get to dance at the military ball!

I was resting so peacefully before a knock came to the door. I really didn't feel like getting up so I just said come in and Marth walked through the door.

"Hey Aq how are you?" Marth asked kneeling down in front of me.

"Better but the doctor told me to stay put for a bit but I feel fine" I said sitting up.

"Well you look better to me too. The swelling went down and the color in your eyes are coming back" Marth said.

"Well at least someone believes me." I said. "So you want to go for a walk?" I said standing up.

"Sure" Marth walked around the neighborhood and Marth was really quiet so I decieded to break the ice.

"Marth is something wrong?" I asked.

"I can't help but think that you getting hurt is somehow my fault" Marth said.

"What do you mean? You didn't know she was going to do that to me you weren't even't there that day" I said.

"I know but you rememeber when I started dating her? I hung out with you way more than I hung out with her and then she got tired of it so she was all 'either her or me'" Marth said.

"And you picked me" Aqua said.

"Yea and she's hated you ever since. Then the face that she's always trying to get me back and now this I should have never dated her in the first place." Marth said.

"Marth you had no idea what kind of person she was. She didn't like me for her own stupid reason and I'm still here so that's all that matters" I said with a shrug.

"You're right. Thank you" Marth said giving me a small kiss. "So are you still going to the military ball?"

"Of course! This year I took I white dress and painted all over it. I just have tp find a pair of good shoes and I'll be ready to go!" I said.

"There's the Aqua I know and love" Marth said pulling me to a warm embrace and giving me a very passionate kiss. If I kept doing this I had a feeling my recovery would go very well.

**Roy's POV  
**I sat in front of the letter & stared at it. "She's really that smart?" I asked Riza.

She nodded. "To get a ninety-five percent on a fourth grade test is pretty rare for a girl two grades younger."

"But to have her skip three grades? I don't know if she could put up with the pressure of it all." I stated.

"She would go into the fifth grade. If she can't handle the work than she will go into whatever grade she thinks will be better for her." Riza explained. "It was all explained in the letter."

"I think we should get everyone else's opinions before we give them an answer." I told her. I stood up & we went to the backyard.

Megan stopped short of running after Alex. "Hey, Uncle Roy."

"We need to talk to you all." Riza announced.

The kids all gathered around us. "Not you, Alex." I told him.

"Mrs. Mustang said all of us. That means me." Alex answered.

I sighed, "Fine. Look, this is about the letter Megan's teacher sent home. How would you feel if she skipped a few grades & went straight to fifth?" I asked.

"Fifth grade?" Megan gasped. "Where all the big kids are? I don't know."

"Baby girl, just think about it. You've done work that proves you know more than theirs. Heck, you can cuss them out in the words papa taught us & they would be completely in the dark." Griffon stated, picking her sister up & making crazy motions with her free arm. "Not to mention what a great opportunity this is for you."

"Nu-uh." Megan argued. "What if I get moved to an even higher grade? What if they make me go to middle school next?"

"They won't do that, honey. It's only for a week." Riza informed her. "If you don't want to stay, then you can pick the grade you think would best suit you."

"Okay, I wanna try it." Megan yelled. Griffon set her down & Megan punched Alex. "You're it." Then she ran off.

I sighed & watched as Alex tagged Flannery & the kids chased after each other. Griffon was slower than the others, but she still didn't give up. Finally, Griffon turned away from the others & ran inside.

I cast a worried look towards Riza & ran in after her. "Griffon?"

I could hear her coughing in the kitchen, so I went there as quick as possible. "Uncle Roy?" she answered.

"What's wrong?" I asked her as she searched through the cabinets.

"My throat is on fire." she called, followed by another fit of coughs. "I had some medicine in one of the cabinets, but I can't find it."

I remember that, Riza said she had moved the bottles to the bathroom. I went to grab them. The red bottles with the purple caps were the ones Riza had found, so I grabbed them & went back into the kitchen, handing them to Griffon.

"Thanks. Can you get me some water?" She asked. She twisted the bottle open with her hands trembling.

I pulled a glass out, filled it up & handed it to her. She popped two pills in her mouth & took a drink of water. I could tell she was in pain, her eyes were watering. "What was that?" I asked in shock.

"Part of my condition." Griffon answered in a raspy voice. "It really hurts."

"As long as you're okay." I told her.

**Flannery's POV  
**I was working on my dress for the military ball. Aqua and I were painting on our dresses. They were simply strapless white dress that stopped mid thigh. I was going to paint it my three favorite colors red, orange, and yellow.

"There finished" I said to myself. It was pefect piece of art. The top half was yellow and the bottom half was orange with red designs like a little sun some flowers, some hearts, and some smiley faces. Now for the accessories I needed some help with this though. "Megan!" I called out to my cousin.

"Yes Flannery?" Megan said running in.

"I need your help with something sit down" I said patting next to me and quickly sat down. "This is the dress I'm wearing to the military I painted it myself"

"The paint is really pretty" Megan said.

"Thank you. Is Alex still here?" I asked.

"No he said he had to go to work why?" Megan asked

"Because young one Alexander is my date to the military ball and he can't see my dress until he escorts me" I explained.

"But it's not like you're getting married" Megan said. I quickly covered her mouth.

"Shh! When you're older you'll understand. When you live in the Mustang household never say the 'm' word" I said removing my hand.

"Okay?" Megan said confused. "So what do you need me for?"

"I have a dress but I need a second opnion on my accessories. I'm going to wear my hair in a single braided ponytail with a rose at the end." I stood up and opened a drawer and pulled out a few things. I pulled out three roses, three bracelets, three rings, three beaded necklaces, three bottles of nail polish and three clutch bags all colored red, orange, and yellow. "See these are the colors I want to wear with my dress I need to pick the colors will you help me?" I asked.

"Sure!" Megan said. "You should wear the yellow rose in your hair it will make your hair look pretty" Megan said holding up the yellow rose.

"Okay what about everything else?" I asked.

"You should wear all three bracelets, the red ring, the orange necklace, paint your nails all three colors stripe it, and take the yellow handbag" Megan said.

"Thank you Megan. There's a future fashion diva in you yet" I said rubbing her head.

"Griffon says I'm turning into a little you. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Megan asked.

"That's a good thing Meg a very good thing" I said rubbing her head.

**Roy's POV  
**Someone knocked on the front door. Griffon left to get it, clearing her throat. "Hey Thatch. Yeah, I'm fine. Okay, I'll get her, just wait here."

"What was that?" I asked when Griffon came back.

"I have to take Megan to get her weekly check-up." Griffon answered. "Thatch came to remind me since I forgot last week."

"Alright. Megan!" I called.

The girl came in with a big smile. "Hey, did you remember my appointment?" she asked Griffon.

"Uh, kinda." Griffon answered. "Thatch came to remind us."

Megan laughed, "I knew you would forget. Let's go. Bye, Uncle Roy."

"Yeah, what she said." Griffon yelled as they left.

"I really believe there should be another boy in this house." I commented.

**Griffon's POV  
**Megan skipped along in front of me & Thatch. "So, I heard Aqua & Flannery are making their own dresses. Is that true?" Thatch asked.

I smiled at him. "Yeah, I saw them & they are so cool. Little Flannery over there helped the big Flannery with the -oh, crap."

"What?" Megan asked, turning to walk backwards.

I groaned, "I haven't got a dress yet."

"The ball is tomorrow." Thatch commented. "Go find one, I'll take Megan to her appointment."

"I owe you one Thatch, thanks." I told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading towards the shops.

When they were out of view, I turned again & headed in the direction of my old cottage. My mom told me that when I got to go to my first Military Ball, she would let me wear the dress she had worn. It was beautiful, I loved it when I was little.

I walked in & up to my parents' room, pulling open their closet. There was one thing I knew was hidden there. I pushed past the first row of clothes to where they hid their good clothes.

I picked up my mom's dress & pulled a duffel bag off the top shelf to hide it in. No one was going to see it until tomorrow, I hoped. I was going to work all night to fix it up a little. The fabric was a little faded & one of the seams had split, I could handle that with a little work.

The dress was a hunter green sequined drop waist dress with a skirt that fell to the floor. I had to be careful not to ruin it beyond repair. I reached back into the closet & pulled out a pair of matching Espadrilles. My mom wore the same sizes as me when she had worn the outfit, so I didn't worry about if it wouldn't fit.

I closed the doors & went over to my mom's vanity, sitting down & looking at the dusty mirror. I opened her jewelry box & picked out what mama said she had worn. A pair of emerald drop earrings, emerald choker necklace, & emerald bracelet. She didn't wear make-up, not even when she went somewhere fancy.

I stood up & walked to the door. "Mama, papa, I love you." I whispered.

"Hey, I thought you were at the doctor's with Meg." Flannery called when I came through the front door.

"I had to get my dress. I'm such an idiot, I forgot about it until Thatch asked about yours." I confessed. "I'll be in my room."

Flannery peeked in from the living room. "Do you need any help with it?"

"No, I'm good. I want my dress to be a surprise." I told her.

"You better not upstage me & Aqua. We work hard to attract attention." Flannery called. She came in & jogged up to me. "You got a package, by the way. No return address, just this weird symbol. We put it in your room."

"Thanks, you want a hint about my dress?" I asked her. She nodded. "It's really vintage. From when our parents were in diapers. It's worth a lot nowadays."

"Cool, I can't wait to see it." Flannery told me.

I walked to the room & said bye to Flannery. The package was on my bed, so I set the duffel bag down & opened it up. There was a letter that came out first. It read:

Dear Griffon,  
I know how much you want to have fun at the ball. Here's something to make sure the spell doesn't wear off at midnight, Cinderella. Built make you strong as you were before you got sick. Have fun doing what you love almost as much as mechanics, Dancing Queen.  
With love, Freddie.

I opened it up. A pair of leg braces? Mama said they were too expensive to get. I had to give up jazz & classical dancing classes because I couldn't get them. How did Freddie get the money? For that matter, where was he, anyway?

"Thank you, Freddie." I said aloud.

Later, when Megan came home, I showed her the letter. "He bought you the leg braces? Mama & papa said they were expensive."

"I know. How amazing is it that he found the money to get them?" I asked her.

Uncle Roy called us down for dinner. "I don't know, but now you can dance with Thatch." Megan said as we walked out. She stopped. "I gotta use the bathroom, tell them I'll be right there."

"Okay." I agreed, climbing onto the banister. I held on & slid down.

**Megan's POV  
**I watched my sister slid down the banister & chuckled softly. I slid back into her room & pulled mama's dress out of the duffel bag. I snuck it into Flannery's room & pulled my pocket notepad & a pencil out of my jeans pocket.

"Dear Flannery, Griffon's dress needs fixing up, as you can obviously see. Please fix it for her. It was our mama's & Griffon has always wanted to wear it to her first military ball, just like mama. Please & thank you, Meg." I said as I wrote a little note to her.

Then I bolted out & slid down the banister to join everyone else. I really hoped Flannery would fix the dress & not rat me out to Gigi. I just knew that Flannery could make it look better.

**Flannery's POV  
**Alex, Aqua and I walked back into my room and there was a mystery garment bagon my bed.

"Hey Flan is this yours?" Alex asked.

"No my garment bag is red" I said with a shrug. I picked up the garment bagand put it on my work bench I unzipped to reveal a green dress.

"Ugh this looks like a zombie dress" Alex said.

"No it has character there's a difference" I said. I pulled out a magnefyingglass and examined the thread work. It was really good but I had seen thisonly once before and a lot of the thread work was damaged.

"Well?" Aqua said

"The thread work is amazing, the fabric type is really nice and the over allexcution is awesome. This dress could be worth a lot" I said folding my arms across my chest.

"I wonder where it came from" Alex said.

"Hey Flan I think Li'l bit left you a note" Aqua said. We had so many nicknames for Meg we couldn't count. She handed me a note and I scanned over it.

"Oh Meg" I said smiling at the note.

"So Flannery do you think you can fix it?" Alex said.

"Please don't doubt me" I said. "It may be very old but I've done a dress like this before so I know what I'm doing" I said standing up and pulling out my manniquin from my closet. I carefully slipped the dress on to it.

"Flannery don't tell me you're going to spend all night on it?" Alex said.

"Of course I am. Megan called for my help" I said. "Like I said I've worked on a dress like this won't take that long" I said digging through my drawers for some thread to match the took about 3 hours to fix the dress but if looked good as new and Alex was there the whole time. He kept Sampson company

"You know you didn't have to stay" I said putting the dress back in the garment bag.

"Nah it's okay. I like spending time with you" Alex said sitting up because he was lying on my bed.

"Aww thank you. Do you think Griffon will look nice in the dress I fixed for her?" I said picking up the bag.

"Yea I guess but not half as good as you" Alex said.

"Aww so sweet I'm going to put this back in Griffon's room" I said. I gave him a small kiss. I walked out into the hallway and looked around to make sure Griffon wasn't around. The Megan came upstairs.

"Hey Meg where's your sister?" I asked.

"She went to take a walk with Thatch why?" Meg asked.

"Because I finished her dress and I don't want her to see it" I said.

"Wow! You work fast!" Meg said. "Can I see it?"

"Not right now Meg I'll show to you later" I said.

"Aww" Meg said disapointed.

"I just need you to look out while I put this away okay?" I said.

"Okay" Meg said.

I quickly went to Griffon's room and the garment bag in her closet...mission accomplished. Griffon was going to look amazing tomorrow night all thanks to me!

Griffon got a little mad at Megan when she got home. Only because Anxo had an accident on her favourite jacket, but she didn't bother wondering about who had fixed her dress.

"I thought you wanted to fix it yourself." I stated as we talked in Megan's room. We were taking her to Anya's house for a sleepover with her & Frida.

"I'm just happy they took good care of it. That dress is really important to me, & my mother loved it as well." She told me.

"Griffon, do you have everything set out for tomorrow?" Megan asked, standing up & handing her sister a notebook. "Here you go."

"Yes, I do. Thanks Meggie." Griffon answered. She stood up & took her hand. "Let's go, it's getting late."

"Wait. Put them on, Gigi." Megan ordered. I had no clue what she was talking about.

"I already did." Griffon informed.

I stood up & took Megan's bag. "I won't ask."

"It's better if you don't." The sisters answered together.

**Thatch's POV  
**I waited in the living room with Alex & Marth for the girls. I would've been fine, but Col. Mustang kept giving us death glares. Mrs. Mustang was upstairs with the girls. I never could remember her rank.

"Don't let him intimidate you." Alex whispered.

"Too late." I told him. "I'm intimidated."

"Roy, could you come up here please?" Mrs. Mustang called.

The Colonel went up the stairs just as the girls came down. The twins were very flashy, but Griffon…Wow! Her dress fit like a glove, it was a very classy dress, like a few of the ones I saw at Aunt B's dress shop. She looked amazing in it.

"Well, how do we look?" The twins asked.

"Beautiful." Marth answered.

Griffon didn't say anything but walked over to me. Together we sighed & shook our heads. "Forever wanting the spotlight." We joked. Was it rehearsed? No, but we knew it was what we were going to do.

"Ya got that right." Aqua stated.

"What do you think of Griffon?" Flannery asked.

"She's gorgeous." I answered softly.

"Hey, do you know anything about the dress?" Aqua asked.

I walked around Griffon, looking at the dress from all sides. "It's very expensive. In its time, it would've only been worth a few hundred." I informed them. "But they don't make dresses like these anymore without specially ordering them. They're made to last decades, their colours don't fade easily. Nowadays, a dress like this would fetch about ten grand." Everyone stared at me. "What? My aunt Brier owns a dress shop, I work there on some of my days off at the hospital. I have to know this stuff. People sell her their old dresses to her all the time, so we have to know how to estimate prices."

"Whatever you say, sissy boy." Alex told me.

The Colonel & Mrs. Mustang came down the stairs. "Are we ready to go?" Mrs. Mustang wondered.

"Yes ma'am." Griffon answered, nodding her head.

"Well, let's go." We walked out & climbed into Alex's car.

Griffon stood at the door. "I'm going to ride with Uncle Roy. That way there's more room for you guys."

I grabbed her waist & pulled her onto my lap, fastening the seatbelt over her. "Not if I can help it." I called.

"Okay, fine. You win." She laughed, pulling the door closed. "Let's go."

**Aqua's POV  
**I smirked as Marth escorted me in. I had the best dress ever. It was based off my favorite painting ever The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. I hand painted on of this short white dress Flannery gave me. It took me about two weeks because I did it by hand but it came out great. I put my hair in a side ponytail on my left shoulder with a crescent barette, a blue bracelet on my left wrist and my shoes with blue with a single opened toe that showed off my neon blue nail polish. As my sister and I walked in we got stares from everyone. We were known for our crazy outfits so it was really nothing out of the ordinary.

"Wow I can't everyone from the military's here" I said as I held on to Marth's arm.

"Yes they all stopped what they were doing to watch such a beautiful angel walk into the room" Marth said close to my ear

I quickly let out a happy blush "Marth Bennet you're just a big flatter" I said giggling slightly.

"I can't help myself" Marth said.

I wrapped my arm tightly around his again and started to giggle. I could feel my dad's glare on my back but I quickly ignored it.

We sat down at the table marked 'Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye' They always called her Hawkeye at work for some reason even though her last name was Mustang. There was a big fondue in the middle of the table which made mevery happy.

"How cool is that? They put a fondue pot here so we have something to eat while we wait for the food" Flannery said. I quickly picked a skewer and stated putting things on it.

"Aqua it's a fondue skewer not a shiskabob. You're only suppose to put one thing on it" Griffon said.

"Says you. You gotta be the free thinker Griff" I said sticking the skewer in the pot and swirling it. I slowly pulled it out and took a big bite. "Hmm cheesy" I said fluttering my eyelashes

"Aquanette are you sure you want to fill up before you start dancing?" Mommy said.

"Mom you can't expect me to dance on an empty stomach! I might fall over and pass out or something! Geez!" I said taking another bite. Everyone except Marth of course shook their heads but I was use to it.

For some reason, when Griffon caught sight of the Statelys, she stood up & excused herself. I had a bad feeling about her talking to them alone, but so did Thatch. He stood up & went after her.

**Griffon's POV  
**I didn't want to, but I felt I had to. There were so many unanswered questions left.

"Hello, Mr. & Mrs. Stately." I said as I walked up to them. "I'm Griffon Heights, you know my uncle, Roy Mustang."

"Oh, yes. Weren't you Ulysses's daughter?" Mr. Stately wondered. I nodded. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

"Yes, well, so am I." I told him, a little confused by his words. My dad died a long time ago. I looked around to make sure we weren't at a funeral; no, we weren't. "I just wanted to ask you a few things."

"Fire away, young lady." Mr. Stately turned & told his wife to go ahead to their table. "What do you want to know?"

"Where Robin got those brass knuckles." I told him to begin with. "I'm sorry if this upsets you, but there are too many unanswered question to suit my curiosity."

"Well, you see. I never got rid of the brass knuckles I used to use a long time ago." He answered. "Tell you what, how about you wait 'til the end of the night. Enjoy tonight while it is young."

I headed back to the table, immediately running into Thatch, who lead me back to the table. "What was that about?" Uncle Roy asked.

"All I did was ask if I could talk to him about something & we agreed to talk later." I informed him. "No big deal."

I got really nervous after a little bit, reaching down to check my braces every five minutes. They were still in perfect condition. No need to worry, right? So why do I still feel nervous?

Food came, food went, most of my food went to Aqua. "Are you sure? You haven't been eating much lately." Auntie R told me, a little concerned.

"I'm fine. Small stomach is all. I never eat much, you know that." I insisted.

"If you insist." Aqua interrupted, taking my food.

"I think I need some fresh air." I said, standing up. "Excuse me."

I walked out & leaned against the wall. It would've been perfect, but I knew there was something missing about tonight.

"I know why you're so down." Someone whispered in my ear. I jumped away & turned around.

I smiled. "Thatch, what the hell? Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?"

Thatch rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, but I know why you're feeling so blue. It's written on your face."

"What?" I asked him, leaning against the wall again. He stood next to me.

"It's the special events waiting at the end of the night." He informed me, as if I was a little girl.

I looked at him. "Huh?"

Thatch laughed softly. "The first: The father-daughter dance. The second: Your talk with Mr. Stately."

"How do you know about the Father-Daughter dance?" I wondered quietly.

"When Aunt B was just a few years older than us, her boyfriend invited her to the military ball with his parents & his little sister, who was also Aunt B's best friend." Thatch began. "Well, when the Father-Daughter dance came & went, her friend said it was the greatest thing to happen that night. Said it was even better than when her boyfriend proposed to her just a few minutes later." Thatch put his arm around me.

"What about Brier?" I wiped a few tears from my eyes.

"She married her boyfriend, had a little girl, & got to watch it happen all over again." Thatch told me. "What about you?"

I started crying quietly. "When I was real little, I always would dance around & took classes to make sure I would be ready when I finally got to go to the Military Ball. Freddie said he would dance with me all night, then papa promised me the last dance of the night." I hugged Thatch tightly, shaking. "That was just a few weeks before he left. And then he didn't come back for so long. When he finally did, it was to bury him."

I sank to the ground, even with the braces. "Shh. There, there." Thatch whispered, bending down next to me. "It's okay. I'm here for you."

I took a few minutes to cry & another to calm down. I really wanted to just stay out there & not worry about anyone or anything going on inside. Then Flannery ruined it by coming to check on us. "Hey, you guys have been out here for a while. Are you okay?"

I stood up & dried my face on the back of my hand. "Yeah. Just getting some air, like I said."

Thatch stood up, too. "No need to worry, Flannery." He assured her.

"Well, come on back in. It's time to dance." Flannery told us.

"Um, alright." I agreed. "Just let me check one thing." I lifted my dress skirt & adjusting the braces.

"What were those?" Thatch asked.

I chuckled, "Leg braces. Freddie sent them."

"Let's try them out. You've been waiting all these years, it's time you got to dance." Thatch insisted, taking my hand & kissing the back of it. "May I?"

"Of course. Let's go." I stated, starting back inside.


	12. Please Wake Up!

**Flannery's POV**  
We walked back inside and Daddy walked up to me and extended his hand.

"Flannery are you ready to go?" Daddy said.

"Yea I'll see you guys later" I said as Daddy and I made our way to the dance floor. "Can you believe it Daddy? We've been dancing like this for eight year" I said as we waltzed around the dance floor.

"I know you girls grow up so fast I can't wait to see Megan looks like in 8 years" Daddy said with a smirk which made me giggle.

"Daddy I've been meaning to ask you something" I said.

"What is it?" Daddy asked.

"You and Mommy knew my real Daddy right?" I said.

"Yes we fought together in Ishbal we were both fire alchemist after all" Daddy said.

"What was he like?" I asked. Like Griffon, My father was in Ishbal but he died shortly after. He was murdered on his way to headquarters but they never found the killer. It has been my life long goal to figure out who did it but all of my leads have been going nowhere and I hate it.

"He was a good man Flannery he was kinda like a my mentor and he talked about his daughters and his wife nonstop" Daddy said smiling. It's nice to think that my biological father and my foster father were friends. It's like a blessing in disguise.

"Hey Daddy a very important date is coming up" I said smiling.

"Well is it the anniversary of your official adoption?" Daddy said. He never ever forgot that date.

"You remembered!" I said.

"Of course" Daddy said. We danced by Aquanette who was just sitting there with a small smile. Then I realized that Aqua never had a father/daughter dance with my biological father or my foster father. What was I doing?!

"Daddy wait" I said breaking away.

"What is it?" Daddy said.

"Hold that thought" I said. I walked over to Aqua and grabbed her her wrist and pulled her up.

"Whoa Flanner where's the fire?" Aqua said.

"C'mere right quick" I said. I pulled her over to daddy. "Daddy you should dance with Aqua. You have two daughters not just one and Aqua no matter how much you don't want to admit it but you've always wanted a father daughter dance so what's it going to be?" I said.

"Aquanette I'm willing to if you want to" Daddy said sticking out his hand.

"Um okay" Aqua said taking his hand as they began to dance I sat down in Aqua's chair and then I hand was placed on my shoulder I looked up saw Griffon smiling at me.

"What're you all smiley about?" I said.

"Nothing your just a really good sister" Griffon said.

I looked out at my sister who had this huge smile on her face. "Yea I guess so" I said with a shrug. "Will excuse me for a moment? Tell Alex I went to the bathroom" I said standing up.

"Sure" Griffon said.

I walked into the bathroom made sure no one was there and then ran into a stall. I clapped my hands together and put it over my eye. I just put the seat down and sat down on top of it. I got into a meditative pose and concertraited. Something was going on with Robin and the Statelys and I was going to figure it out. I couldn't see much because it was blurry but I saw a beaten man but I couldn't really tell who it was. This meant something and I have to figure out. I changed my eye back to normal and calmly walked back out.

"Hey are you alright?" Alex said walking up to me.

"Yea I'm fine" I said. "You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure" Alex said. He could always take my mind off my stresses

**Griffon's POV  
**I was watching Uncle Roy dance with Aqua when someone taped my shoulder. "I know I'm not technically your father, but we could go outside to dance if you want." He said.

I immediately recognized the man's face. "Freddie? Oh my God! Yes. Where have you been?"

We walked outside. "I've been working wherever I could for a long time, so that I could pay for your braces."

"Thanks so much, big bro." I said, starting to dance with him. "I would've been miserable without them. But how did you find me?"

"I was looking around the cottage one day when I saw you come in with that boy watching us." Freddie chuckled, nodding his head in the direction of the door.

I turned to look, & laughed, "That's Thatcher Lesser, my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?" Freddie asked. "Aw, my little sis is growing up so fast. You can't grow up, sprout."

"Come on, I'm always gonna be the little sister in your eyes." I stated. "To you, I'm always gonna need protecting from the boys."

Freddie laughed, & after a little bit, we went back inside. I wanted to introduce him to our family.

"Griffon was it?" Mr. Stately called, walking over. "I believe you wanted to talk to me."

"Oh, that's right." I exclaimed. "Freddie, just follow Thatch. I'll be over in a little bit."

I walked _back_ outside for the _third _time tonight. "I just want a simple, clear answer." I demanded. "Were you the one who killed my father?"

Mr. Stately smirked. "Yes, you're a smart girl."

I gasped & backed up. Someone put their hands on my shoulders. I turned around to face Mrs. Stately. "Dear child, you shouldn't have stuck your nose in our business."

"You, you're the lady from the graveyard." I gasped again. I knew that face way too well.

I tried to get free of her grip, but her hands snaked around my neck, tightening slowly. I closed my eyes & felt my body crash to the ground.

**Thatch's POV  
**Freddie, as I heard Griffon call him, & I were hiding behind the door. We heard everything & saw what Mrs. Stately did. As soon as Griffon hit the ground, she put on a fake terrified face & shrieked. "Oh my god! Someone, call for help! This poor girl!"

I ran from my hiding spot & fell to my knees in front of Griffon. "Come on, G. Speak to me." I patted her cheek. Then I put my ear to her chest to try & hear a pulse. "This isn't good."

"Try chest compressions." Freddie offered.

I followed his instructions, but it didn't help. "One option left to try until help gets here." I told him.

He nodded. "Go ahead. I don't know how to do it."

"Yeah, good thing I do." I informed. People had gathered around her & were watching me try & resuscitate Griffon. I positioned her head & put my mouth over hers & puffed air into her lungs.

Freddie pressed his fingers into her wrist to check for a pulse. "We got nothing." He whispered.

I paled a little, but went back to trying to resuscitate her. Finally, an ambulance arrived & took Griffon to the hospital. I pushed through the crowd to get Col. Mustang. "It's Griffon."

"What happened?" Mrs. Mustang gasped.

I lead them through the crowd to Freddie. "It was the Statelys, we saw them." I stated.

Freddie nodded. "She strangled Griffon."

"Who are you?" Aqua asked.

Freddie squinted & leaned down to face Aqua. "Her brother. The name's Freddie. Nice to meet you, too."

"Well, if we leave now, we'll probably get to the hospital shortly after the ambulance." I informed them.

Freddie nodded again. "Thatch, I want you with me." He turned & started walking.

"We'll meet you guys there. Stop & pick Megan up on your way." I called back to them, running to catch up with Freddie.

We arrived as soon as Griffon was being wheeled into the Emergency Entrance. My face flushed again, noticing she had gotten paler, that her skin wasn't the usual tan shade it always was.

We had to go in through the front entrance, so I told Freddie to wait there while I went to check with some of the doctors. I ran to stay beside Dr. Steppe. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Young girl, Thatch, around your age." He panted, trying to go as fast as he could. "We need to get her revived quickly. This is our worst in years. Funny, our last case this bad, the same thing happened. You gonna help."

I pushed open the doors to the emergency branch so Dr. Steppe wouldn't run into them. His eyes were glued to his clipboard. "Of course, I was there when it happened & I'm gonna be here when it's done."

We set to work. In a minute or two, Griffon had a faint heartbeat. We had done it, with one small condition.

**Roy's POV  
**We sat down in the waiting area for a little while. Thatch came to get us earlier than we had expected. He was dress in nurses scrubs, for some reason. "Follow me." He instructed.

He lead us through the hospital to Griffon's room. Her eyes were closed, her skin seemed paler & she had an intubation tube down her throat. "Is she okay?" Riza asked.

"Depends how you define 'okay.'" Thatch told us. We turned to face him. "We had to put her in a drug induced coma to give her body time to rest & repair itself."

"How long will that be?" Aqua wondered.

"At the least, two weeks." Thatch answered.

Flannery asked with a little hesitation, "And at the most?"

"She could never wake up." He stated quietly. "Stay as long as you need. They put me on the clock. I have to go." He turned & left the room, closing the door behind him.

**Aqua's POV  
**I walked into Griffon's room where she was lying and I sat down next to her. I felt the odd feeling to talk to her.

"Hey Griff it's me. I know I don't seem like the person who would do this but I honestly do this all the time. I talk to my real mother and father all the time but anyway I wanted to tell you something. In my eyes the Statelys are very greedy and the reason I say that is because Marth dated Robin before he started going out with me I didn't tell you because it didn't seem to matter but I feel like that Robin saw Marth as an object that she wanted to have where I saw him as a person and that's why they broke up. I know what happened to your dad and I'm really sorry my Daddy was murdered too. Maybe Mr. Stately killed your Daddy because he thought that your Daddy took something from him but that's why you need to wake up so me, you, and Flannery can figure this thing out together. I know it doesn't mean much but that's all I have to say now." I said standing up. I looked out the window and saw that the moon was full which made me smile. "I don't much about healing alchemy but I know a little. This should take a little of the presure of off you neck" I placed my hand above her neck and a blue aura started to form after a couple of seconds I closed my fist making the aura disappear. Griffon took a deep breathe but she didn't wake up at least some air was getting into her lungs. I walked out and saw Flannery dressed in normal clothes she had her hands on her hips which mean she mean business.

"C'mon Aquanette we've got work to do" Flannery said.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"I mean we're going to find out why the Statelys did this and then kick their butts" Flannery said.

"Right." I said with a nod of my head

"And you won't believe what I found" Flannery said holding up a piece of paper. I unfolded the paper and let out a gasp it had all of our names on it except Megan's for some reason thank goodness. It looked kinda like a hit list it was in this order 1. Roy Mustang 2. Riza Mustang 3. Flannery Mustang 4. Aquanette Mustang and 5. Griffon Heights and Griffon's name had a question mark next to it meaning they didn't know if she were dead or not. The Statelys had gone to far we couldn't show this to Mommy and Daddy they would go off. So we would keep this just in case we needed it.

"Okay Flannery so what's the plan?" I said because Flannery was always the brains of the outfit.

"We sneak into headquarters and try to get some information. We can get some of Mommy's uniforms and sneak into Major Stately's office to find something to use against him and his wife" Flannery said.

"Got it" I said with a nod of my head. The Statelys were going down...hard

**Roy's POV  
**I couldn't believe it. A while ago, someone, wait, two someones, had broken into Central Library. And I'm only hearing about this now. "Did they take anything?" I asked.

"No, the security camera shows they only looked at & copied one specific record." Riza informed me. "The death report of a Mr. Ulysess Heights."

"I know who it was." I stated suddenly, sitting up straight.

"Well, then, let's go question them." Riza suggested.

"No use." I told her. "She's in a coma. It was Griffon. Get me that report."

"Yes sir." Riza said, walking out.

In half an hour, she let the record fall into my desk. "Let's see what Griffon wanted to know." I picked up the report & flipped through. "Hmmm, isn't that a coincidence."

"What is?" Riza wondered.

I turned the report around for her to see it. "Turns out that the person to find my old friend was the one & only Major Stately. And the weapon used to kill him, also the one used when Robin attacked Aqua. Well, they were both brass knuckles, anyway."

"You think that's enough information to confront him?" Riza asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head. "I need to hear what they said. And I also want to know who the other person was."

Riza looked down at another report. "The words were, & I quote, 'Papa wasn't killed by an Ishbalan. It was Mr. Stately. He hated papa for having a higher ranking, even more so once he got to befriend Uncle Roy. Mr. Stately was also the only one known who owned brass knuckles at the time. He was the one who found papa's body. He would've been the last one to see him alive, & when papa died, he received papa's ranking.' She had the whole thing figured out. When Robin attacked Aqua, it must've struck a blocked memory that gave her a weird feeling that she had seen the incident occur before." she lectured.

I blinked in bewilderment. "Insightful. Makes enough sense to me." I closed the record & handed it back to her. "The other person, it was Megan. Wasn't it?"

Riza just nodded & headed out to return the files. "They would do anything to find out the truth & protect each other. Megan followed Griffon to make sure she didn't get caught. Griffon risked death just to find her father's killer. Your side of the family is a little wrong in the head."

"We just stand up for our beliefs, no matter how extreme the actions we may have to take." I assured her, "She wouldn't do something like that just for her. It was to put an end to the mystery of it all, to let her sister's mind forget about having an unsolved murder in the family."

"I'll keep that in mind." Riza called.

**Flannery's POV  
**Let me just make one thing clear. I probably wasn't a Mustang biologically but I was a Mustang mentally which meant I did not give in that easily. I was going to get to the bottom of this. I had a feeling that Major Stately wasn't going to be here because his family was under investigation. I found the key to his office and started looking around. I found the brass knuckles, some diary pages from Ishbal, Some files, and a copy of my Uncle Ulysess death certificate. The question was why did he have this?

"I thought you might be here" I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw Major Stately and his wife who had a gun pointed at me.

"Stately" I glared at him.

"You know it's not nice to go through people's things" The Major said

"Yea? But it's also not nice to put people in comas now is it?" I spat back.

"Aww the little girl's all upset over her cousin" The Major said.

"I'm not little girl. I'm bigger than you'll ever know you don't see it in my face do you?" I said.

"What on earth are you talking about?" The Major said.

"The name Fiery Pheonix mean anything to you? Or did you kill him too?" I asked.

"Ah yes old Ozai I thought about killing him but with his alchemy I couldn't touch him. It would have been nice to make Lieutenant Colonel though" The Major said.

"You're a horrible man. You took a father from three kids" I said.

"It's all about getting to the top hon" The Major said. "Now how about you give me that bag sweetheart?"I looked down at my purse which had all the evidence in.

"Of course just let me do this right quick" I said. I clapped my hand stogether and placed them on the floor. I used Alchemy to create a giant fist with brass knuckles on them. See how they liked it. I ran up the fist and jumped out.

"After her!" I heard Major Stately say.

I was wearing my brown leather boots that day so I could run very fast in them. For some reason I could run faster in heels than I could in sneakers. I knew I was going to be able to keep this up for long. An idea struck my head.

"Someone help! Help! I'm being chased by two homicide maniacs! They are trying to kill me!" I screamed as I ran the hall that made everyone come out of their offices including my mother and father.

"Flannery what's going on?" Daddy said as I ran by.

"Can't talk right now meet me in the library!" I said before running faster. I clapped my hands together and stopped for a moment to press my hands against the floor. I pressed my hands against the floor again and created another fist which stopped Mr. Stately but Mrs. Stately some dodged and ran after me. "You have got to be kidding me!" I said before taking off again. I ran into the library to hide no one was working today I guess. I was looking for a place to hide but I couldn't because the library so full of open space. "Oh man" I said.

"Nowhere left to run" I turned around to see Mrs. Stately pointing her gun at me. "You and that sister of your always took my daughter from me I'm not going to let you take my husband too." Mrs. Stately said.

"Mrs. Stately please you don't have to do this you can make this whole situation better if you put the gun down" I said holding my hands.

"Shut up! Say hello to your parents for us" She said starting to take aim. I put my hands over my ears and shut my eyes tightly to wait for boom but it never came I opened one of my eyes to see Mrs. Stately just standing there her face was getting tighter and tighter and some of the veins of her face were showing. I looked over to see Aquanette with her hand sticking out. Her left eye was black with a white pupil and crescent around it. Mrs. Stately was gasping for air when Aquanette felt like she had enough she put her hand down and Mrs. Stately fell to the floor.

"You okay kid?" Aqua said clapping her hands and putting it over her eye changing it back to it's beautiful Aquamarine color.

"Yea I'm fine" I said. "How did you know I was here?"

"We're twins remember I know where are at all times" She said tapping her head. Then Mommy and Daddy ran in.

"Girls are you alright they didn't hurt you did they?" Mommy said.

"No we're fine. Mrs. Stately's over there" Aqua said pointing to Mrs. Stately's unconscious body.

"We'll get Military Police in here get an investigation started" Daddy said.

"Daddy this might help" I said pulling out the hit list.

"Yes this might help a lot" Daddy said looking over the list. "Why don't you go pick up Megan and go check on Griffon" Daddy said.

"Yes Daddy" We said.

**Megan's POV  
**Flannery & Aqua picked me up. They were lucky that they didn't have to go to school today. I still think the work is too easy, even if it was fifth grade.

"Flannery, what happened?" I asked as she took my hand. Her knuckles were scratched.

"Nothing. Just a small incident." Flannery said smiling.

I didn't believe her for some reason. I let go of her hand & clapped mine together before taking her hand again. I know I promised papa I wouldn't do this, but I didn't like being lied to. Flannery's memories flooded into my brain & I saw what she had.

"What did you just do?" Aqua asked.

I answered softly, since doing that always drained my energy. "I'm just figuring out what you two are too afraid to tell me. It's part of my gift, so my papa used to say. I can absorb vast amounts of information & other people's memories. If I really concentrate, I can absorb & deposit energy." To demonstrate, I pressed my hand against a streetlight & made it turn on. I then took all of its energy.

"That's so cool." Aqua commented. She looked at her phone. "We should go check up on Griffon."

"Let's go." I yelled, racing off in the direction of the hospital.

When we got there, they immediately let us go to Griffon's room, saying that we were allowed to go in & out at any time. We ran into Thatch going there, too.

Uh, let me rephrase that. He was sitting on one of the benches in the hallway outside my sister's room. He had his eyes closed & was snoring quietly. I shook his arm. "Thatch? Are you alright?"

He jumped up & started speaking gibberish. Then he saw us, smoothed out his scrubs & picked up his clipboard. "Hey guys." he said, clearing his throat.

"It's practically the middle of the day. Why were you asleep?" Flannery wondered.

Thatch rubbed the sleep from one of his eyes. "I have to help at Aunt B's shop before school, then I have to go to school, followed by work here. Plus, I'm getting called here late at night when other nurses don't show up." He held up a pager. "I'm barely getting any sleep."

"That's terrible." I said, taking the pager & looking at it. It made a beeping sound & Thatch took it back.

"Speak of the devils." He muttered. "I have to go."

"Bye Thatch." I called to his retreating figure.

Griffon was still out cold, but they had taken the tube out of her throat. Thank God! They put one in my throat before, it was _not_ pleasant, let me tell you that. She was still pale, & when I touched her hand, it was ice cold. The only thing that proved she was alive were the monitors showing her steady heartbeat.

The door opened again & Freddie walked in. He gave a small wave & sat down at the far side of the room. "Don't mind him, he doesn't talk much to anyone outside the immediate family." I told the twins.

"Okay. He must not talk a lot." Flannery figured.

Aqua nodded. "Must be why his voice is so gravelly."

I sighed, "Why won't Griffon get better?"

"Megan, Thatch did say it would be about two weeks." Freddie called to us.

"But…" I began. "She's supposed to be the strong one, the one who can handle anything." I sniffled a little.

I kept thinking that whenever Griffon came up. This didn't happen the first time it happened. The first time, she fought one of the doctors to prove she was well enough to leave, three hours after she was attacked. She boxed with papa & wrestled with Freddie. She would always win, too. She could lift me up with one arm. And I always kept in mind that all this was _after_ she got sick. This wasn't right, she was stronger than this.

**Griffon's POV  
**I slowly started to open my eyes. I was trying so hard but they just wouldn't open!

"Psst! Griffon" A small voice said.

"Hmm?" I said with a groan.

"Griffy poo wake up" The voice said/

"Ugh!" I said. I opened my eyes and saw these great big blue things staring back at me. They scared me so I let out a scream and it screamed back at me. I sat up and butted heads with it.

"Ow!" The voice said. It grabbed it's forehead and fell to the floor. "I'm going to admit that hurt" The voice said. I finally recognized the voice and sat up completely.

"Aquanette! What the hell is your problem!" I said/

"I've been doing this to make sure you're awake! And now you are! And now my heart is glad" Aqua said standing up.

"Little weirdo" I said shaking my head. "How long was I out?"

"According to Megan, 11 days, 8 hours, 52 minutes, and 47 seconds" Aqua said looking at her watch.

"Yea that sounds like something Meg would do" I said.

"Is everything okay? I heard screaming" Flannery said running in.

"Yea Griffon woke up" Aqua said.

"Griffon you're awake!" Flannery said running over and giving me a hug.

"Gigi!" Megan said running in and jumping on the bed. "I knew you would wake up! I have to go get Freddie" Megan said running off calling Freddie's name.

"Freddie's steal here?" I asked.

"Yea he's been staying with us" Flannery said.

"Yea did we mention that he was a real jerk face?" Aqua said.

"Aquanette" Flannery said.

"Well he is" Aqua said.

Hey sis how's it going?" Freddie said holding Meg.

"It's been better" I said with a shrug. "Hey where's Thatch?" I asked.

"Oh poor thing's been running around like crazy. He has to work at his Aunt B's then school and then come here all night" Flannery said. "Plus he spent most of his time taking care of you"

"Is he here now?" I asked. I really wanted to see him.

"Of course" Flannery said. She walked out and shortly came back in with Thatch he quickly walked over to me.

"Griffon how are you?" Thatch said taking my hands.

"I'm better now" I said with a small smile.

"Well, you certainly look better." Thatch commented. I held onto his hands. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded. "Just cold. Really cold."

"I'll get you some blankets." Freddie said. He put Meg down & walked out.

"Like I said, total jerk. He ignores us all the time." Aqua said grumpily.

"Uh, he's built a little wall to keep anyone out. He's been that way for a while." I stated softly. My grip on Thatch's hands loosed. "It's the fact that his closest family members are dead makes him a little edgy & off the scales. In other words, he has trust issues."

Freddie came back in. He walked over to me & I quickly let go of one of Thatch's hands & grabbed Freddie's ear. "Ow! G, what the.."

"Listen here, Alfred Ares Heights." I interrupted him. "These twins are our family. You are supposed to be _nice!_ Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes! Let go, let go, let go." Freddie gasped.

I smirked & pulled harder before letting go. "You should tear down the barrier between you & everyone else. How do you expect to…" I trailed off & stared at his hand.

"What?" Freddie asked, rubbing his ear.

I grabbed him again, this time turning his hand over to look at his ring. "Did you?"

"Uh-huh. Sorry I forgot to mention it." Freddie blushed. "She's just outside."

"Then go get her." I ordered, motioning toward the door.

Freddie ran outside & came back with a young woman. She was okay, with long blonde hair & brown eyes. "Griff, this is Jessica, my wife."

"So you're finally awake. It's nice to meet you." Jessica said. She smiled at me. "I'm glad to see that you're okay. We all are."

"Thank you." I told her. I turned to Thatch, since he knows the drill. "How long before I get to go home?"

Thatch thought for a minute. "They'll probably hold you overnight to check your vitals. I'll get Dr. Steppe."

After Thatch left, I turned to the twins. "What happened to the Statelys?"


	13. The Twins' Hometown

**Still Griffon's POV  
**Flannery turned to Freddie. "Do you mind if we have some alone time with Griffon?"

"Uh sure we'll be in the hallway" Freddie said he picked up Meg and walked out with his wife

"So what happened?" I asked.

"Well I went to Major's Stately's office and found some evidence to use against him. He and his wife came and attacked me. I managed to stop Mr. Stately but Mrs. Stately chased me to the library where Aquanette managed to stop her" Flannery explained.

"So did you find anything?" I asked.

"Some diary pages from Ishbal, some files about Ishbal, your dad's death certificate, and the brass knuckles with Aqua's dried blood on it" Flannery said.

"I see. Where is all of this now?" I asked.

"It's with investigations Major Hughes is going to go through all of this. The Stately's have been arrested for attempted murder and Mr. Stately's murder charge should come in soon" Aqua said.

"I'll have to thank him" I said. Then Uncle Roy and Aunt Riza came in.

"Oh Griffon thank goodness you're alright" Aunt Riza said giving me a hug.

"How are you feeling?" Uncle Roy asked.

"I'm much better now" I said.

"So when can you get out of here?" Uncle Roy asked.

"They said I have to stay over night for a vital check" I said with shrug.

"Well the sooner the better everyone misses you" Aunt Riza said.

I looked over at the twins. Aqua was smiling like a goofball of course but there was something in Flannery's eyes that just different than most time. "Flannery is something wrong?" I asked.

"No it's nothing important you just worry on getting better" Flannery said with a shrug. Like I would get it out of Flannery she cares more about me than her own problems.

**Flannery's POV  
**Griffon got to come home after about 2 days we were all sitting in the living room when Freddie and Jessica came downstairs.

"Well it looks like we're all ready" Freddie said.

"Freddie you don't have to leave! You and Jessica can live in my room so you don't have to leave!" Megan said grabbing on to his pants leg.

"Yea Alfred you can at least get an apartment out here" Aqua said.

"Sorry Meg but I just got a job in East City so I have to do that now" Freddie said. "But I'll try to keep more in touch with you guys"

"You better or I will come out there and beat you up myself" Griffon said.

"You don't have to worry about that sis" Freddie said.

"You need anything at all Freddie don't hesitate to call" Mommy said.

"That's right" Daddy said.

"Thanks Unc. Hey Flannery you alright?" Freddie said.

"Oh yea I'm fine" I said. I really wasn't but I didn't feel like talking about it. "You have a safe trip okay?"

"Thanks" Freddie said.

"Honey we better get going we might miss our train" Jessica said.

"Right. Well I'll see you guys later" Freddie said taking Jessica's hand. "Bye Meg" Freddie said kissing his little sister's forehead.

"Bye Freddie" Meg said hugging his legs before breaking away so Freddie and Jessica could leave.

"So girls we've been doing some thinking" Daddy said.

"About what?" Aqua asked.

"We're in need for a little vacation" Daddy said.

"How about we go to the beach for the long weekend" Mommy said.

"Oooo can the boys come?" Aqua and Griffon said.

"Must they come everywhere?" Daddy mumbled.

"C'mon Daddy the boys have lived in Central their whole lives they've never been anywhere close to the beach. When Flannery and I lived in the south we went to the beach all the time remember Flannery?" Aqua said.

"Yea it was great" I said not really paying attention to the conversation.

"C'mon Roy the more the merrier" Mommy said.

"Fine they'll have to drive their own car" Daddy said.

"That can be arranged" Aqua said.

Later that day I was just sitting on the porch in one of the louge chairs. The anniversary of my parents funeral was coming up and where was I going to be? Being happy and sunshiny on some beach near my hometown. Just awesome.

Megan walked out. "Hey Flannery?" She asked.

"Yeah." I answered. I turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry, but I need to know." She told me. She pressed her fingers against my forehead & I started to feel dizzy, like I did when she first told us about her 'gift.'

When it was over, I looked at her. "Did you just do what I think you did?" I asked.

Megan's eyes watered & she gave me a hug. "I'm sorry Flannery. For what I did. But you wouldn't tell us & me & Gigi were worried about you."

I hugged her back. "It's okay." I told her. She started crying. "What's wrong now?"

"I thought it would help." she said. "You had so much bottled up emotion, I figured could take some away from you to relieve internal pressure." She started shaking. "Now I don't know how to stop."

Griffon poked her head out the door & spotted me & Megan. "You overwhelmed yourself." She called to her sister. She walked out & put a hand on her sister's cheek. It glowed green & Megan calmed down, gasping for breath. "Mama never taught you how to relieve emotions."

"You know how to?" I asked Griffon.

Griffon nodded. "Our mom taught us everything she knew. Me & Freddie, anyway."

"So it was your mom who knew alchemy?" I asked her as she patted Megan's back.

"Both of our parents knew how to use alchemy. They taught each other how to do certain things. I could do so much more if I had papa's research" Griffon explained. "Mama said that all of papa's research was in the house, right in front of us, but I never found it. She said it was always right in front of us."

"Makes you wish you had absorbed her memory." Megan taunted, hiccupping between words.

Griffon looked from Megan to me. "She's right. It's not healthy for you to keep so much bottled up."

"Yeah, & that's so comforting." I said, rolling my eyes.

Megan ran inside. "I'll be right back." She came back out with a thick notebook. "Here you go, it's my latest story."

"Why are you giving it to me?" I asked.

Megan shrugged. "To take your mind off of you-know-what. It's not finished, though."

I flipped through it. "The notebook is filled. How is it not finished?"

Megan chuckled, "That's only one of them. I couldn't fit it all in one notebook."

Griffon laughed & started leading Megan inside. "We'll let you be alone. Be sure to be back in by dinner. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be seeing you." I called back.

I closed my eyes to think again. Had it really been eight years?

"Flannery?" I heard a voice say. I opened eyes and saw Alex walking onto the porch with his skateboard.

"Hey" I said sitting up. "Sit down next to me" I said pulling up another louge chair which he sat down in.

"So what's going? What're you doing out here?" Alex asked.

"Just thinking I guess. So listen do you think you can borrow your Aunt's van this weekend?" I asked.

"Yea she and my Uncle are going to visit some family in West City why?" Alex said.

"Because we're going to the beach this weekend we're going to stay in our beach house and Daddy said you could come but you have to bring your own car" I said.

"Awesome we'll be there. I can't wait to get back into the water and surf again" Alex said.

"I didn't know you surfed" I said.

"Yea when it was warm out we use to go out to the beach all the time. Oh while I'm here my Aunt Ruby wanted me to give you this. She made it from that diamond you found" Alex said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a diamond heart necklace.

"Oh my gosh it's beautiful" I said taking it from him.

"Thanks. I came up with the design just for you" Alex said putting it around my neck.

"Flannery it's time for dinner" Mommy said.

"Coming mom! Well I better get going." I said turning back to Alex. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"You got it. And try to make a happy face a sad one doesn't suit you" Alex said before giving me a small kiss and walking off.

I sat through dinner without saying much and went to bed early while everyone else was downstairs.

DREAM TIME!!!

I had a dream that I was eight years old again and Aqua and I were at my parents' funeral and she was crying with her head in my lap.

"Flannery what're we going to do? Mama and Papa are gone and Grandpa's getting to old to take care of us" Aqua said once everyone was gone.

"We'll take care of each other and if you ever feel scared or alone I'll be right there" I said rubbing her head.

"But I'm scared now" Aqua said still crying in my lap.

"I know I am too but we'll get through this I promise. As your sister I promist I'll take care of you no matter what happens Aquanette" I said. She quickly sat up and gave me a hug. From that day on I took a vow of selflessness. To put others needs before my own and to save my own problems for later and worry about others first.

DREAM TIME OVER!!!

I sat up in a sweat for some reason I didn't want to sleep in my bed. So I grabbed a blanket and a pillow and walked downstairs. Before I did that I checked on Aqua where she was sleeping peacefully in her bed. I laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling before falling asleep.

**Megan's POV  
**I woke up early, so I went downstairs for some juice. I stopped at the stairs & went into the living room, for some reason. I call it child's intuition. Flannery was sleeping on the couch.

"Why is she sleeping down here?" I asked. My hand reached out to her but quickly stopped. "No, I won't search her mind."

"Yeah. Uh, that's a bad idea." Griffon called from behind me.

I spun around to face her. "Why are you up so early?"

"The question you should be asking is 'Why are you still awake?' I haven't been able to sleep." Griffon told me. "Wanna walk down to the cottage with me. I'm gonna take one last look around before we leave."

"Sure." I answered. "But it's not like we're not coming back."

"True, but I just wanna look around our old rooms." Griffon told me. She scribbled a note down & we left.

When we got back to the old cottage, I sat down in from of Griffon's old vanity. "I used to love sitting in front of the vanity." Griffon said. "It seemed that whenever I did, mama would come in & talk to me. She would put her hands on my shoulders & talk about anything & everything. Before she left, I would ask about papa's research & she would she 'Dear, it's right under your nose. Right in front of you. Just look past everything.'"

"What does that mean?" I asked, looking at her reflection.

Her eyes widened. "Stand up & get away from the vanity." She ordered.

I stood up & moved back until I hit the bed. Griffon crawled under the vanity & came back up on the opposite side. She pushed it out a little further until she could squeeze through the area between the wall & the vanity.

"Screwdriver." She said, holding out a hand. I picked up the tool off her bed & put it in her hand. "Thank you."

She squeezed back through the crack & started working on something. "What are you doing?"

"There's something here. That's what mom was saying. Look past everything? Right in front of me? It's been behind the vanity the whole time." Griffon explained.

"Oh, how could we have been so stupid as to not think of that?" I wondered aloud.

Griffon shrugged & went back to work. Finally, something crashed to the ground. A wooden box, screwed to the back of the vanity, fell down & broke open, spilling its contents of a series of journals.

"You figured it out." I gasped.

Griffon pushed the vanity back into the corner & smiled as she picked them up. "I knew I would figure it out one day."

"If only you could've figured in out sooner." I retorted.

Griffon shrugged & headed out the door. "Beggars can't be choosers."

"You gonna start reading it when we get home?" I asked.

"Ha! No, I'm not gonna wait that long." Griffon scoffed & flipped on of the journals open. It had "First of Seven" written on the cover. Seven? She was gonna be busy.

**Aqua's POV  
**That weekend we had to pack for the drip because we were leaving tomorrow morning. I was trying to zip up my suitcase but it didn't work.

"Griffon! Megan! Can you come here right quick?!" I called out to later they came in.

"Yea Aq?" Griffon asked.

"Help me zip up my suitcase" I said. They sat down on either side of mysuitcase and I was able to zip it up.

"Aquanette what did you pack in there?" Griffon asked.

"Oh just the basics some beach wear, my swim suits, sun glasses, my stuffed animals, and some food" I said with a shrug.

"How did we not notice that before?" Megan said shaking her head.

"C'mon baby girl we've got to go finish packing" Griffon said before they walked out. The next morning we got up early around 5 o'clock in the morning. Flannery, Griffon, and I were still in our pajamas because it was going to be a long ride and we were planning on going back to sleep. We were sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the boys to show up.

"Where are they?" Griffon asked looking at her watch.

"Alexander probably driving" I said with a shrug.

"What makes you say that?" Flannery asked.

"Because whenever Alex drives anywhere he's like an hour late" I said.

"Calm down it's only 5:30" Flannery the van pulled up and stopped by the curb and Alex climbed out.

"Hey sorry we're late. I got breakfast" Alex said holding up a bag.

"Let's just get going. Maybe we can make up for the lost time" Daddy said looking at his watch.

We packed up all of our bags and departed towards South City beach. I made Marth drive because we were going to be late if Alex drove. So Marth drove and I was in the passenger seat next to him, Flannery and Alex were in the row behind us and Griffon and Thatch were in the row behing them.

"So what do you want to do first?" Griffon asked.

"Well I'm going to smoke Aquanette with my awesome surf moves" Alex said. I quickly turned to face him..

"You wish red-head surfing's in my blood" I said.

"What're you going to do Flannery?" Thatch asked.

"I might go into town and do some shopping" Flannery said with a shrug.

"Flannery don't you have enough clothes?" Griffon said.

"You can never have enough clothes" Flannery said shaking her head

"If you say so." Griffon rolled her eyes & pulled out a book.

Flannery turned to look at our cousin. "What about you?"

"Wave diving." Griffon answered with a smirk. "It's the best."

"Should I ask?" Thatch asked us.

Griffon sighed, "Wave diving is a test to see how far you can go in the ocean. You stay away from surfers & try & see how far out you can get by swimming against the tide."

"Why do you call it wave diving, then?" Alex wondered.

Griffon's smile grew. "Because, you have to dive under the water so that it doesn't sting as much when the waves hit you." She looked back down at her book & was quiet for the next five minutes.

Thatch waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? You still there?"

Griffon looked up. "What? I can't read in peace now?"

"Sorry, you just got really quiet. What's got you so…" Thatch paused, trying to find the words.

"Just a book. It's, uh, an old book series that I found at my house & I want to read them all." Griffon assured.

**Flannery's POV  
**At around 3 o'clock we arrived in the small town of Barcelona which was about an hour outside of South city at around. Aqua and I were born in the temple near by because my father didn't believe in hospitals. My grandfathere lives in that temple to this very day. I was thinking about going to see him and my grandmother later when I went into town. We arrived at our beach house and quickly unpacked because all the kids wanted to make it down to the beach.

"Okay kids Riza and I are going for a walk on the boardwalk you're all welcome to do what you want but be back for dinner at 9:30" Daddy said. "And make sure you keep an eye on Megan"

"Yes sir" We all said.

After Mommy and Daddy left I got dressed in a red tube top, a jean mini skirt, and black flip flops. I was packing stuff into my purse when Alexander walked in a pair of red swim trunks that stopped below his knees, black converses, and a pair of aviator sunglasses.

"Hey Flannery you ready? We're all going to head down to the beach" Alex said holding out his hand.

"Yea I was just putting some things into my purse" I said putting my bag on my shoulder and taking his hand.

"Are you okay? You still seem a little down" Alex said.

"No I'm fine I just need a little sun I guess" I said with a shrug.

"Well you're going to get a lot of it here" Alex said. We walked out into the living room and the others were waiting for us. Aqua, Marth and Thatch were holding their surfboards.

"Are you ready to go?" Aqua said.

"Yea let's get down there" I said with a made our way down to the beach and Aqua, Marth, Thatch, and Alex quickly hit the water. Megan and Griffon started building a sandcastle, I set up my beach umbrella and sat down on the beach chair I bought with me. I pulled out a magazine and started to read. About 30 minutes later Alex came up to me and he was drenched from head to toe. He stuck his board in the sand and sat down next to me.

"I thought you would be out there longer" I said looking up from my magazine

"I was but I changed my mind" Alex said with a shrug. I handed him a towel so he could try himself. "So you want to go into town?"

"Sure" I said standing up. I pulled out my sunglasses and put them on. We stood up and he took my hand and we made our way on to the boardwalk.

"It's so nice around you don't get weather like this in Central" Alex said.

"Yea it can be" I said with a shrug. We walked into a clothing store and started looking around and I got looks from all of the locals. I was my father's daughter there was no hiding it you could see it in my face. This town did not like the military and when my father joined they did not like it.

I walked closer to Alex because I didn't like all of the dirty looks I was getting.

"Flannery is something wrong?" Alex asked.

"It's nothing it's just all the people are looking at me" I said with a shrug.

"Don't worry about them they're just jealous" Alex said.

"Why would anyone be jealous of me?" I asked confused.

"You're beautiful, and smart, and a kind person" Alex said.

"Aww thank you" I said blushing slightly.

"Military brat!" I heard someone say behind me. Then I felt something sharp go into my back. I turned around and saw that some threw a large rock at me. I looked up and saw a man with another rock on his hand that he threw at my stomach which caused me to crumble to my knees. I would fallen to the ground but Alexander caught me.

"Hey buddy you got a problem?!" Alex said.

"Alexander please he's not worth it" I said as Alex helped me up.

"But he-" Alex started but I cut him off.

"We're on vacation let's just try to enjoy it" I said.

"Fine" Alex said.

"I want to show you something will you come with me?" I asked taking his hand again.

"Sure" Alex arrived at my Grandfather's temple and rang the bell.

"Wow this place is huge!" Alex said. "Who lives here?"

"My biological grandparents they run this alchemic teacher where they teach kids alchemy" I said ringing the bell again. This time the door opened to reveal my Grandmother Emelina who I was named after. She had brown hair with streaks of grey going through it and brownish/red eyes.

"Oh is that little Emmy?! My have you grown!" She said pinching my cheeks. She always was a face toucher.

"Hey Grandma" I said rubbing my face once she done pinching it.

"Oh and who is this?" Grandma said looking at Alex.

"This is my boyfriend Alexander. We were on vacation so we thought we come and say hi" I said with a shrug.

"Well please come in your grandfather is in the meditation garden" Grandma said moving aside to let us lead us into the garden and Alex let me go alone to say hello to my Grandfather and he would come meet him later. I walked to the middle of the garden and saw my grandfahter meditating under the cherry blossom tree. I walked slowly because I didn't want to disturb him.

"Grandfather Sage?" I asked from behind the cherry blossom opened one of his eyes to see me.

"Ah little Emeline please come and sit with me we have much to catch up on" Grandpa said patting the spot next to him. I sat down next to him and he had both of his open at this point. "So what brings you to these neck of the woods?"

"Family vacation" I said with a shrug.

"Ah yes that is why all of these tourists come here. I never understand it I live here for all of my life raised a family here and my all 3 of grandchildren were born here and we've only been to the beach about 7 times." Grandpa said shaking his head.

"Speaking of that where is Oracle? I thought she would be the one to answer the door" I said.

"She has gone to the store. Such a nice girl she's going to go places if she wasn't so shy. After we move to Central I want to get her into Central Academy. Then when her father returns from Eastern they can stay together.

Oracle Jubilee Tusinko was my biological cousin. She was my father's brother's daughter. She was a year younger than Aqua and me. Her dad, My Uncle Kenshin is a Colonel in the military and is stationed in east city. He's going to coming home soon and Oracle's going to live with him again.

"But Grandpa what about the temple?" I asked.

"Your grandmother and I are getting older I think it's time for us to retire and plus we want to be closer to our family don't you think it's a good idea?" Grandpa said.

"I think it's a wonderful idea grandpa" I said with a small smile.

"Yes I thought you would. Now isn't there someone you would like me to meet" Grandpa said looking at Alex who was leaning against the door frame.

"Oh yes" I said. I waved him over and he walked over and sat down next to me. "Grandpa this is my boyfriend Alexander Bennent. Alex this is my Grandfather Lo Shu Tusinko but everyone here calls him Master Sage" I said.

"It's nice to meet you sir" Alex said shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you too Alexander" Grandpa Sage said.


	14. Yet Another Cousin

**Aqua's POV  
**After everyone was asleep I climbed out of bed and slipped into my flip flops and put on my hoodie. I looked back at Marth who was sleeping peacefully. Mommy some how convinced Daddy to let the boys sleep in our bed because she trusted it us. Flannery and Alex were sleeping in the bed on the corner, Marth and my bed was in the middle and Griffon and Thatch were on the other side of us in the other corner. I looked back at Marth as I zipped my hoodie. He just looked so cute when he was sleeping I couldn't take my eyes off of him but I had something to take care of so I would have to look at him later.

I walked into town towards the cemetery. I hadn't seen my parents in a while and I thought I could use the time while we were here. I climbed over the fence and walked down one of the rows I was glad my parents were buried next to each other that meant they got to be with each other for the rest of eternity and I know that would make them very happy wherever they were. I looked down at the tombstones that read Ozai Jiao Feng Tusinko and Kitana-Mei Tusinko and I felt myself crumble to my knees. I couldn't get up my legs felt like cinderblocks and I couldn't move.

"I thought you might be here" I heard someone say behind me. I turned my head slightly to see my sister walking towards me.

"Yea I just had to come see them you know?' I said slightly gripping the grass between the graves. Flannery extended her hand to me and helped me up. I sucked on my lip a little because I didn't want to cry I was Aquanette Wynter Mustang and I did not cry.

"Aquanette I know you want to be strong and all but it's okay to cry" Flannery said.

"Don't be ridiculous I don't cry" I said looking away.

"Aquanette it's okay I'm the only person here" Flannery said. I looked down and some tears started to run down my face. I quickly stood up straight and gave Flannery a tight hug it surprised her at first but she wrapped her arms around me.

"I MISS MY MOMMY!!!" I said bawling like a baby. I dug my head in Flannery's shoulder and she rubbed my back.

"I know honey I miss her too but we can't dwell in the past now can we?" Flannery said.

"No" I said sniffling. I lifted my head up and wiped my face. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Flannery asked.

"After all that we've been through all of our trials and tribulations how do you stay so strong?" I asked wiping face sat down on the ground and I sat down next to her. "I'll have to admit it gets hard sometimes but I do what I do for you Aquanette" Flannery said which surprised me.

"For me?" I asked

"Yes you see Aquanette after Mama and Papa's funeral I was introduced to something called the seven virtues" Flannery said.

"The seven virtues?" I said confused.

"Yea it's like the opposite of the seven sins there's Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, and Humility" Flannery said counting on her fingers.

"Oh okay" I said nodding my head.

"I try my best to practice Kindness and Patience and then the others just fall into place. Something happened to me today when I was walking through the town with Alex" Flannery said.

"Really what?" I asked.

"A man called me a military brat and then threw two rocks at me" Flannery said looking down.

"That's awful why would he do something like that!" I said starting to get angry.

"Because of who we are Aquanette you know that" Flannery said looking at me.

"I know but he's still being mean he hardly knows us just because our father joined the military he shouldn't be branded for life it's not fair!" I said.

"I know it's not fair Aquanette but what's done is done." Flannery said.

"So what did you do to him?" I asked.

"I didn't do anything. I believe in karma Aquanette that man will get what's coming to him and as long as it's not by hand I'm perfectly fine with that" Flannery said with a shrug.

"I guess you're right but you never answered my first question why do you do for me?" I asked.

"Because you little physco you're my sister and I love ya" Flannery said with a smile.

"Hey! Whatever happened to kindness?" I asked.

"Dude no one's perfect I only speak from the heart" Flannery said with a shrug.

"And your heart thinks that I'm a physco?" I asked stood up and I stood up after her.

"Yea pretty much" Flannery said with a shrug. "Now c'mon and get some sleep Marth's been waiting for you" Flannery said

We returned back home and Flannery climbed into bed with Alex and I climbed into bed with Marth.

"Aquanette are you okay?" Marth asked wrapping one his arms across my waist.

"Yea I'm a lot better now." I put my head up against his chest and quickly went back to sleep which was full of sweet dreams.

**Thatch's POV  
**A small beeping woke me up. I looked down at my bag by the edge of the bed. "What the hell?" I mumbled as I picked up my pager. Do they not understand what _vacation_ meant?

Megan climbed up onto the bed & took it from me. "Do they know your on vacation?"

I gave her a look. "Do they know you awake at…" I looked around for a clock. "Three o'clock in the morning?"

Megan ignored me & took my pager over to a window. "I would still be asleep if it weren't for this." She stated, throwing the device out the window.

I looked to see if I'd woken anyone else up. "Where's your sister?" I asked, noting that she wasn't sleeping next to me.

Megan forced me up & over to the window. "She's down by the pier. It's a natural instinct."

I picked the girl up & tucked her back in. "Go to sleep, okay?"

"Uh-huh." She mumbled.

I grabbed two jackets on my way out & headed down to the pier.

As Megan said, I could see Griffon at the end of the pier, sitting there with her head tilted back. I walked up & sat down next to her. "Why are you out here?" I asked.

"Woke up. Couldn't get to sleep. Came out here." She replied softly. She closed her eyes & fell back on the wood. "I like the water."

"Megan said it was a natural instinct. What did she mean by that?" I wondered.

"Nothing, my dad would always take us down to a lake at night if we couldn't sleep. I still do sometimes, you know, back home." Griffon told me. She answered a little breathlessly.

I stated, leaning over her, "Open your eyes."

Griffon shook her head. "No, not now."

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Just don't want to open my eyes." Griffon said. "Is that so bad?"

I frowned. "It is if you won't tell me why."

Griffon pushed herself back up & finally opened her eyes to show me. They were still their beautiful hazel, but the pupils were sort of oval, making them look cat-like.

"What's with your eyes?" I gasped, looking at the drastic change of her eyes.

Griffon laughed, "First, you look ridiculous, pick your jaw off the pier." She put a hand under my chin & pushed my mouth closed. "And, to answer your question, I got it from my dad. His eyes were like this, only we disguise them using alchemy to look normal. People have eye's like this all the time, but they hide it. Freddie & Megan are normal, but I'm the lucky one."

"Come on, let's get inside. We both need to get back to sleep before anyone else wakes up." I informed her. I stood up & held out a hand.

Griffon grabbed my hand & stood up alongside me. I put one of the jackets on her shoulders & tugged on the one I had on. "Thanks."

**Aqua's POV  
**I was asleep in bed the next morning. I rolled over to say good morning Marth but he wasn't there. I sat up and saw that every one else was gone. I let out a sigh and rested my head against the pillows again. I had already slept in so what was the point of going down to breakfast?

"Aquanette Wynter Mustang! You have thirty seconds to get down here or the boys are eating your breakfast!" I heard my mom say from downstairs.

"Coming mom!" I said as I bolted out of bed.

I walked downstairs and everyone else was sitting down eating breakfast. I walked over and stole a pancake off of Meg's plate.

"Hey that's mine!" Megan said.

"C'mon Meg think about who eats more you or me?" I said sitting down next to Marth.

"Oh you have a point" Megan said looking down at her plate.

"Here you go Aquanette" Mommy said putting a plate in front of me.

"Sweetness" I said. "Pass the butter and the jelly" I asked my sister.

"Here" Flannery said handing them to me.

"Thank you" I said picking up a knife and putting them on two pieces of toast. I put hash browns, eggs, and bacon on one piece and some grits on the other piece then I mashed them together and took a bite. "Mmm" I said savoring the flavor.

"Aquanette what the heck is that?" Alex asked me.

"It's a breakfast buddy" I said with a shrug.

"A what?" Thatch asked me.

"A breakfast buddy it helps you eat breakfast faster. See it's got the sweet, the savory, and the salty all in one" I said taking another bite.

"That's it we're going to get you checked once we get back into Central" Daddy said. I almost dropped my sandwich

"What do you mean checked out?" I asked.

"I mean it's been like that ever since we adopted you Aquanette. You eat every hour on the hour and you miss that hour you act like you're so hungry. That can't be healthy sport" Daddy said.

"I feel fine" I said shaking my head

"But it could be some internal. Now my mind is made up and you are going to the doctor when we go back to Central. Have I made my self clear?" Daddy said.

"Yes sir" I said. I felt fine why would I need to go to the doctor?

Megan got up & walked over to her sister. She poked Griffon's stomach. "I think you should get checked, too."

"I've been to the hospital more than I would like already to admit." Griffon told her, covering her stomach with her arms. "Even worse, I was put in a coma." She glared at Thatch.

"But you never eat." Thatch mentioned.

Griffon turned to look at him. "Who's side are you on?"

"Forget I mentioned it." Thatch said, waving his hands in dismissal.

"So what are you kids doing today?" Mommy said sitting down next to Daddy.

"I talked to Oracle she's going to take us ATV racing across the beach today and then going to the boardwalk to play some games and ride some rides" Flannery said. "She should be coming by later around lunch"

"Oh I can't wait to meet her, what does she look like?" Mommy said.

"She looks a lot like us but she this dirty blonde hair color and she's like really quiet but she's a nice kid" I said with a shrug.

"I'll pass." Griffon said quietly, pushing her plate over to me. "Thanks anyway."

"Why? Don't you wanna ride an ATV?" I asked her.

Griffon shook her head, & held her arms. "I don't feel like it."

Flannery leaned forward in her seat. "I think you should come with us. Just try it & I'm sure you'll like it." She told Griffon.

Griffon sighed & reached into the bag she took _everywhere_, pulling out a green book that had 'Second of Seven' written in messy scrawl. We tried talking to her again, but she just ignored us.

After a while, I got sick of it, grabbed her shoulders & shook her pretty violently. "Talk to us!" I growled. She looked up from her book & I finally thought we had gotten her to talk to us…until she reached down into her bag & pulled out a new book: Third of Seven.

I groaned & sat back down. "I'm thinking she doesn't want to go ATV racing with us."

"What was your first clue?" Alex grumbled.

**Griffon's POV  
**A fear of ATVs - along with motorcycles & anything else with a motor that isn't a car - is not something I would like to admit in front of people like Aqua & Alex. I can repair them, but I draw a line when it comes to riding them. I seriously think that Flannery is the only one who knows. Choosing to ignore them, however, is not the best idea.

I smiled when they finally gave up. It was better that Thatch didn't even try. He knew it was safer to stay away.

"I'm not going to ride one of those things." I finally told them.

Aqua gasped, "She speaks. Who knew?"

"Eat your food & try not to talk as much." I informed her.

"Meaner." Aqua popped some food in her mouth & grumbled something.

"Oh, be quiet Aqua." I hissed. I stood up, took a room key from Thatch & started walking back upstairs. "I'll be in the room if you need me."

I flopped back down on the bed & closed my eyes. I felt a little shock & knew that my eyes had turned back to their normal shape. They did it on their own whenever I had 'sudden emotional surges.' It meant if I got really angry, sad, scared or any other emotion, my cat-like eyes would take off their disguises.

I heard the door open again & turned away from them. The person flopped down beside me & I could tell it was Thatch. "Hey there, pretty kitty. You want to tell someone why your moody today?"

"Yes, kind of. No." I answered.

Thatch sighed, "If it helps, I'm not going either."

I turned back around. "Why?" I asked.

"ATVs creep me out. I can't stand them for some reason." Thatch confessed, shivering.

I laughed & smiled, opening my eyes. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Walk around the beach & just take it all in." Thatch answered, he rolled onto his back & put an arm up. "It wouldn't hurt if you went with me."

I shook my head, pulling the bed's covers up around me. "I'm tired. Let me sleep for a little bit. Please."

Thatch rolled off the bed, jumping to his feet as soon as he hit the ground. "It's most likely because you were up for who knows how long until three in the morning."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Hmm, that reminds me. What were you doing up so late? How did you know I was at the pier, for that matter?" I asked.

"My pager went off, Meg woke up & threw it out the window, then told me where to find you." Thatch answered. He kissed my forehead & walked away. "I'll let you sleep now."

**Megan's POV  
**I was playing with Alex and Marth in this racing game the twins bought from the house and I was so smoking them! They couldn't keep up if they tried.

"I'm pretty sure you're cheating" Alex said looking at me.

"You can't cheat on a racing game idiot" I said glaring at him.

"Megan play nice" Auntie Riza said as she walked from across the room to the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am" I said

"Girls you better come out soon Oracle might be coming" Auntie Riza called out to Flannery who was in the bathroom and Aqua who was in the big kids'room.

"Coming mom!" The twins said. They walked out at the exact same time. Flannery was wearing a white T-shirt, a jean skirt, and white flip flops with her hair in bun on top of her head tied in a white bow. Aqua was wearing a black T-shirt, jean mini skirts, and black flip flops with her hair tied in a French braid with a black bow at the end. They looked each up and down before both putting their hands on their hips.

"Since when did you start wearing bows?" Flannery said.

"Since now and to tell you the truth I think I wear it better" Aqua said taking a seat next to Marth.

"Mom!" Flannery said

"Aquanette don't be mean" Auntie Riza said from the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am" Aqua said.

A few minutes later a knock came to the door and Flannery and Aquanette hopped out of their seats.

"Don't you dare answer that door Aquanette" Flannery said pointing toher sister.

"Whatcha going to do about it?" Aqua said. She sprinted towards the door and Flannery cut her off, picked Aqua up and slammed her up against the ground. "Oof" Aqua said as she answered the door. Flannery answered the door and a girl who looked a lot like the twins except her eyes and hair were different and she had dark blue streaks in her hair. As soon as she saw Flannery they started jumping up and down and then Aqua stood and all three of them started jumping up and down together.

"Oracle you look so nice!" Flannery said.

"Oh not really" Oracle said shaking her head.

"Of course you do! Your streaks looks awesome!" Aqua said.

"Thanks" Oracle said.

"Mommy, Daddy, Griffon, Thatch come out here!" Flannery said. Auntie Royand Uncle Roy walked out of the kitchen and Griffon and Thatch walked out of the room.

"Everyone this is our cousin Oracle" Aqua said. "Oracle this is our foster parents Roy and Riza Mustang, our other cousins Griffon and Megan Heights, our other friend Thatch Lesser, and our boyfriends Alexander and Marth Bennett" Aqua introduced

"Uh nice to meet you all" Oracle said. "Oh Ms. Riza my Grandma wanted meto bring this to you" Oracle said holding a big scrapbook.

"Oh thank you what is it?" Auntie Riza said as Oracle handed it to her.

"It's the twins' baby book. Since you and Mr. Mustang adopted the twins when they were eight my Grandpa and Grandma thought you would like it."Oracle said.

"Thank you I'll have to look through it later" Auntie Riza said smiling.

"Oracle was that really necessary?" Flannery said putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't blame me I told Grandma you wouldn't like it but you know her"Oracle said with a shrug. "So are we ready to go? I know a great spot at the beach to go racing"

"Sorry Oracle but Thatch and I are going to have say no but if it's okay can we hang out later?" Griffon said.

"Sure. Actually the fair is in town tonight did you guys want to go? We could walk there" Oracle said with a shrug.

"Thanks we'll be there" Griffon said.

"C'mon guys" Oracle said walking out. I jumped off the couch and walked over to Auntie Riza.

"Be careful okay?" Auntie Riza said kissing my forehead.

"Yes ma'am" I said.

"Flannery, Aquanette watch out for your cousin" Uncle Roy said.

"Yes sir" The twins said. I took Flannery's hand and we walked outside and there were three ATVs a red one, a blue one, and a yellow one.

"Oracle how'd you get these all here?" Flannery asked

"Some friends helped me get them here. Now remember Grandpa helped me pay for these so they're partly his so be careful" Oracle said as she climbed onto the yellow one.

"Don't worry we'll be fine" Aqua said climbing onto the blue one with Marth behind her.

"Alex do you want to drive?" Flannery asked

"Sure" Alex said he climbed onto the red one. Flannery helped me onto it and place me behind Alex and she sat behind me and wrapped her arms around the both of us.

"You okay Meg?" Flannery asked.

"Yep" I said.

"If we hit any sharp turns just hang onto Alex" Flannery said.

"Do I have too? He's icky" I said in slight disgust.

"Hey I heard that squirt!" Alex said looking behind him.

"That's why I like Marth better" I said folding my arms across my chest. I really did.

"Alex don't be mean she's a just a little girl. Just start the ATV"Flannery said.

"Fine" Alex said twisting the key and starting the ATV.

"Okay follow me!" Oracle said over her ATV.

**Thatch's POV  
**Griffon & I turned away just as the others started off. As soon as we did, Griffon pulled out a piece of paper & handed it to me. "Check out what fell out of one of Meg's notebooks. It's a reference key for her latest story."

"Why didn't you give it back?" I asked her.

Griffon giggled, "Just read it."

I sighed & flipped the paper open:  
**Emmy, Sister of Light=Flannery  
****Mary, Sister of Darkness=Aqua  
****Lita, Fair Queen of the Pixies=Griffon  
****Urion, Fate=Alex (Ugh!)  
****River, Guardian=Marth  
****Lance, the Fallen Angel=Thatch  
****Derek, One of the Alliance=Grant  
****Nathan, One of the Alliance=Isaac  
****Zayo, One of the Alliance=Frida  
****Devon, One of the Alliance=Lillian  
****Ronald, King of Soratone=Uncle Roy  
****Ramona, Queen of Soratone=Aunt Riza**

**Pairings: Emmy/Urion  
****Mary/River  
****Lita/Lance  
****Derek/Devon  
****Ronald/Ramona**

"Wow. Okay then, your sister is a little crazy." I sighed, shoving the paper into my pocket.

"What do you mean by that?" Griffon asked. "Sure, she acts absent-minded sometimes, but I don't think she's crazy."

"I admit that the pairings & names, along with the character roles, are pretty good, but does she really have to base the characters on us." I complained.

Griffon took my hand & we started walking. "Relax, we both know she's not very creative when it comes to creating characters. It won't hurt you to let her base a main character on you."

I shook my head. "I'm really starting to hate it when you're right."

"Which is always." Griffon gloated.

"Exactly."

"Aww, you know you love me, though." Griffon said, a little whimper in her voice.

I picked her up by her waist & spun her around. "Of course I love you." I told her, pulling her into a hug.

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it." She laughed.

We continued down the beach. "You're impossible, you know that?"

**Flannery's POV  
**After we raced up and down the beach we took the ATVs back to the temple and took Grandpa's van back to the house to drop of Megan and pick up Thatch and Griffon because it was big kids night. While Oracle and the boys waited in the van Aqua and I went inside to change and to get Thatch and Griffon. Aqua and I walked in and saw Thatch and Griffon sleeping on the couch.

"Aww they look so cute!" I said.

"Yea well we need to get going to avoid the lines. Griffon!" Aqua yelled.

"Whoa!" Griffon said as she fell off the couch.

"Oh good you're up" Aqua said.

"Sorry about that Griffon you know how Aquanette's known to spoil a good moment" I said shaking my head.

"Yea it was my fault for sleeping in the middle of the day. Let me get dressed" Griffon said standing up. "Thatch" Griffon said shaking Thatch.

"Hmm?" Thatch said starting to open his eyes.

"C'mon we've got to get ready" Griffon said taking Thatch's hand.

"Right" Thatch said.

After we all got dressed we had to tell Mommy and Daddy we were leaving.

"Daddy!" Aqua called out to him.

"Yes Aquanette" Daddy said as he walked out of his room.

"I need 60 dollars" Aqua said sticking out her hand.

"60 dollars for what?" Daddy said.

"Because we're going to the boardwalk and I want to play some games" Aqua said whining.

"Fine, fine." Daddy said reaching into his wallet and handing us each 80 dollars except Thatch of course.

"Thanks Uncle Roy but why'd you bring so much money?" Griffon said putting the money in her back pocket.

"Because I knew you girls would be asking for money every two seconds" Daddy said putting his wallet away.

"Smart man" Aqua said.

"We'll be back at around 8 we're going to watch the fireworks" I said smiling.

"Why can't I go?" Megan said whining a little.

"Because as I've told 500 times Baby girl this is big kids night. But I promise we'll all go out tomorrow" Griffon said

"I'm holding you to that" Megan said before storming off.

"She'll be okay. Let's get going" Griffon said.

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the boardwalk. We got out and I took Alex's hand, Aqua wrapped her arms around Marth's arm, and Thatch wrapped his arm around Griffon's shoulder. I felt so bad for Oracle she was a nice girl but she was so shy. We walked through the gate and saw all the rides and the games.

"Look at all the stuff! What should we do first?" Aqua asked.

"We could- Oh no!" Oracle said before hiding in an alley.

"Oracle what's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Don't let him see me!" Oracle said from inside the alley.

"Who?" Aqua asked. We turned to see a boy with spiky brunette and green eyes walking with three other boys.

"Hey don't we know that kid?" Thatch said.

"Yea that's Chris he's on the soccer team with me" Alex said.

"What's he doing here?" Griffon said.

"Flannery didn't we use to play together when we were littler?" Aqua said.

"Oh yea!" I said remembering. "He must be here for the firework festival" I said.

"Hey Chris!" Alex said waving his hand.

"Alex dude I didn't think you would be here Colonel Mustang let you come here with Flannery?" Chris said.

"I know I was surprised too" Alex said with a shrug. "So what are you doing here?"

"Came here with some family. We may not live in Barcelona anymore but we never miss the firework festival. Hey do you guys know this girl named Oracle?" Chris said.

"Yea that's our cousin" Aqua said.

"Really? If you see her could you tell her to come find me?" Chris said.

"Can do" Aqua said.

"Thanks" Chris said before walking away. Once Chris was out of sight Oracle came out of the alley and straightened out her sun dress.

"Okay I'm better now" Oracle said.

"Oracle what's wrong? Christopher use to be one of our best friends" Flannery said.

"It's not that!" Oracle said. I stared at her for a couple seconds before coming to a conclusion.

"You like him!" I said.

"I do not!" Oracle said grabbing her cheeks.

"Oracle it's nothing to be ashamed of why don't you just tell him?" Aqua asked.

"Because, I'm just normal and there's nothing special about me and I'm going blind anyway who's going to a want girlfriend who can't even see their boyfriend" Oracle said looking down at the ground.

"No Oracle don't think like that. The medical technology in Central is much better than here maybe when we get there we can take to an eye doctor. We know a great one" I said.

"I guess so. But until then I don't want to talk to Chris I might embarrass myself" Oracle said. "But enough about that c'mon let's get some rides in before the fireworks go off" Oracle said turning around to walk away.

I looked at Aquanette who nodded her head with a smirk. We were so going to fix Oracle later


	15. Enjoy Your Stay

**Griffon's POV  
**I shook my head. "Please, don't drag me into your crazy antics." I hissed into the twins' ears.

"Only if we have to." Flannery answered.

"Or want to." Aqua told me.

I felt my stomach flip. "I'm gonna get a ride in before I'm forced to do anything."

"Good idea." Aqua called as I walked away.

Thatch looked around at the rides. "Which one?" he asked.

"I don't care, but it has to spin & has go fast." I said.

Thatch looked at me like I was crazy. "You can hardly walk, as it is. Why do you want to throw off your balance?"

"Because it _fun!_" I answered. I spotted the ride I was looking for & started pulling him over to it. "There it is. Let's go."

"Why won't you act like a normal girl?" Thatch groaned, following behind me.

I stopped & turned to look at him. "'Cause I think being normal is vastly overrated."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. Why are we a couple?"

"Good question, but we'll answer that after we go on the spin-y swirl-y ride." I let an evil cackle & rubbed my hands together.

"Okay, cool your jets." Thatch put a hand on my shoulder. "Your gonna give yourself a heart attack."

I scoffed, "I am not."

After the ride, who should come up to us but the twins. "We're here." Aqua yelled.

Flannery grabbed my hand & started pulling me away. "Time for you to get dragged into our crazy antics."

"See you for the fireworks." I called over my shoulder to Thatch & waved sadly with my free hand.

They dragged me over to Oracle who was sipping lemonade with some of her friends.

"Hey Oracle you wanna play some games with us?" Flannery said.

"Uh sure" Oracle said. The twins grabbed her hands and pulled her over to the basketball game where Chris was playing basket. "Oh no" Oracle said quietly.

"Hey Chris we found Oracle" Aqua said."Oh thank you. Oracle I've been looking all over for you" Chris said putting the basketball away. He held up a teal teddy bear. "I won this for you. I know teal's your favorite color" He said handing it to her.

"Oh thank you that's so nice" Oracle said blushing like crazy. It was like 6 shades darker than Flannery's hair. She was shyer than I thought.

"So Oracle did you want to go on a walk with me" Chris said holding out his hand.

"Uh sure" Oracle said taking Chris' hand. As they walked away Oracle looked back and gave the twins a nasty glare.

"So is that it? What did you need me for?" Griffon said. The twins gave me a look. "This isn't over is it?"

"Far from it. C'mon!" Aqua said taking my hand and Chris sat down on the beach and we crouched down in the bushes near the sidewalk.

"Should we be doing this? I mean Oracle's shy enough" I whispered.

"Shh!" The twins quickly shushed me.

I let out a sigh. "Why do I even try?"

"So Oracle when are you moving to Central?" Chris asked.

"Sometime next week. We could have been out of here sooner but my grandmother keeps cooking things and she can't put her pots away" Oracle said with a shrug.

"Yea that sounds like grandma" Aqua said shaking her head. "Her food is amazing though"

"Are you going to miss it all?" Chris asked Oracle.

"The only thing I'm going to miss is going to be able to walk down to the beach" Oracle said with a shrug.

"You aren't going to miss the town at all?" Chris asked.

"I'll miss the town but the people not so much" Oracle said.

"Why?" Chris asked.

"Because they put my cousins and I through so much. Just because their mom got pregnant at 16 and our dads went into the military" Oracle said with a shrug

"Don't worry once you get to Central you won't have to worry about that any more" Chris said.

"Yea I hope so" Oracle said.

"Oracle I was thinking about something" Chris said scooting closer.

"Uh about what?" Oracle said blushing again.

"Maybe you could call me once you get to Central. I could show you around" Chris said with a shrug.

"I'd-I'd like that" Oracle said blushing smiling

"Good I can't wait" Chris said. Then slowly he leaned in and placed his lips on top of Oracle. Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head but she quickly closed them. After a few minutes they broke away. "I've wanted to do that for a long time"

"Me too" Oracle said blushing. Chris stood up and helped Oracle up.

"C'mon we better get a few more rides in before the fireworks start" Chris said still holding Oracle's hand.

"Right" Oracle said.

"Nice streaks by the way. Blue's a great color for you" Chris said.

"Wow thanks my cousin sent them to me" Oracle said running her fingers through her hair.

"You're welcome" Flannery said quietly before Aqua gave her a high five. "If you ever need streaks come see me I have all colors"

"I'll try to remember that" I said shaking my head. We ran away so Oracle couldn't see us and we met up with the boys. "I gotta say for sneaky tricksters you girls are alright" I said with a shrug.

"We do our best" The twins said knocking their knuckles together

"Let's go." Thatch said, taking my hand. "The twins stole you before we had a chance to play some games."

"Sweet, let's hurry before the fireworks start." I agreed.

**Thatch's POV  
**Griffon & I started walking down through the crowd. "Look at all these people." Griffon gasped. "I didn't think so many would show up."

"It's pretty important here. Haven't you been here before?" I asked.

"Not at this time of the year, but I did live here for a couple months." Griffon answered. "I wonder…" she trailed off.

"What?" I wondered.

Griffon waved a hand. "Nothing, I just had a few friends & was wondering if they were…Are those caramel apples?" She pointed to a small stand just ahead of us.

"Yeah, some kids set it up to earn money for their school's dance program." I told her. "I saw it when you were playing match-maker."

"First, it wasn't my idea, & second, I love caramel apples. Come on, I wanna get one." She said, tugging on my arm.

"Fine, fine, cool it, G." I told her. "You're acting like Meg."

She stuck out her tongue & turned to the kids at the stand. "Two please." she said.

"You got it!" The girl said. She stopped when she saw Griffon. "Griff, is that you?"

"Uh, yes?" Griffon answered. "And you are?"

"You don't remember me?" The girl asked, brushing the bangs out of her face.

"Why on Earth would I want to remember Aria Wolfe?" Griffon wondered with a small smile.

"Sweet. You do remember." Aria exclaimed, reaching over the counter to give Griffon a hug. "How's my cousin doing?"

"Grant? Still an air-head. But, what about you? I mean, they're shutting down your school's dance class? That's so terrible, you love to dance." Griffon babbled on with the girl.

I waved a hand in front of their faces. "Hello? Anyone want to fill me in?"

Aria giggled, "Who's the cutie?"

Griffon laughed, "This is my _boyfriend_, Thatch Lesser."

"Hi." I said with a small wave.

Aria squealed, "You are so lucky, Griff."

"Me? What about Zane? I thought you had a major crush on him." Griffon accused, raising an eyebrow. "I expected you two to be together by now."

A couple of boys popped up from behind her. "Oh, who does Cerbi like?" One asked.

"Uh, no one guys." Aria answered, shrinking down a little.

Griffon pointed to the boy with dark purple, almost black, hair & light yellow eyes. "Thatch, that's Zane Delawder." She pointed to the other, with blonde hair & ocean blue eyes. "And that's Zach Brahler. They were some of my best & only friends while I was here."

"Great. We finally get to see Griffon again." Zach exclaimed. He jumped over the counter & gave her a hug.

"Great to see you too, Zach." Griffon answered, pushing him away. "Guys, meet Thatch. Can we have our apples now?"

Zane pulled out two caramel apples & handed them to Griffon. "Sure. Here you go."

Griffon pulled out her money & handed them a twenty. "Thanks Zane. And here you go."

"The apples are only five." He said.

Griffon winked at him. "I know. But I only have twenties. Keep the change."

"It's almost time to close up." Aria told the boys.

"You guys closing up to see the fireworks?" Griffon wondered.

Aria nodded. "Everyone's waiting to figure out how they're gonna top last year's fireworks. You should've seen them."

Griffon & her friends started talking, so I snuck away to one of the games. The stupid one where you have to knock all the bottles down. "Give me three." I told the man at counter, putting my money down.

One thing I knew, was how to knock the bottles down. I could win any carnival/festival/whatever game. So I easily got every single bottle on the ground. Thank you, baseball camp. To think I thought I had wasted the last ten summers of my life going there.

The man sighed. "Top shelf, kid."

"I'll take the dragon." I said, pointing to the green stuffed dragon resting on the top shelf of the prize rack. He handed it down without a word & I snuck back to Griffon.

"There you are. Where were you?" Griffon asked, taking a bite out of her apple.

I took the other apple & replaced it with the dragon. "That's where."

"Hey, that was one of the top shelf prizes at the bottle game." Zane noted. "No one can get a top shelf prize from there."

Griffon's eyes lit up. "Oh, I love it!" She gave me a kiss & giggled, holding the dragon close.

"She's acting girly." Zach gasped, his eye twitching. "Just for some dumb dragon."

Aria looked it over. "Doesn't it look like Lockheed?" she asked. "Only, you know, a different colour?"

"Lockheed?" I wondered.

Griffon sighed, "Aria's a comic book junkie. I guess she's talking about some comic."

"That explains it." I shook my head & started toward the area where people were gathering to see the fireworks. "I think it's time we meet up with the guys."

"Can I come, too? I really want to see what crowd you're in now." Aria stated.

"You all can." I told her.

Aria pursed her lips. "Oh, if Griffon hadn't gotten to you first." she whispered loudly enough for us to hear.

Griffon & Zane looked at her with looks of surprise. I'm pretty sure things could have gotten bad.

"Guys, over here." Aqua yelled, waving her arms.

I took a bite of apple. "That's Aqua for you."

Aria grabbed Griffon's arm & dragged her over to Aqua. "So those are your friends? I _have_ to meet them." The two boys raced after her, but I just took my time getting there.

"Griffon has insane friends…Why am I okay with that?" I asked myself. Only one thing bothered me about them, though. That was Zach's reaction to us being together.

**Aqua's POV  
**We were all sitting in a circle waiting for Chris and Oracle to show up because they were going to get some things to start a bon fire. Griffon and Thatch walked over with these three kids and Flannery and I quickly put our hoods over our heads. Wasn't she aware that the locals hated us?!

"Hey guys this is Aria, Zach and Zane. Can they watch the fireworks with us?" Griffon said.

"Uh sure" Flannery said with her hands on the side of her hoodie.

"Thanks" The girl called Aria said as she sat down. "So your Aqua right?" Oh good she didn't know my real name.

"Uh yea" I said with a shrug trying the best hide my face.

"Guys these are my cousins Flannery and Aquanette and their boyfriends Alexander and Marth Bennet" Griffon introduced.

"Hi" Aria said.

"Hey" The boys said.

"Nice to meet you too Griffon can we talk to you right quick" Flannery said standing up and I stood up after her.

"Uh sure but don't we want to wait for the fireworks?" Griffon said.

"They won't be on for another 5 minutes beside you need to hear this…now" I said before Flannery and I grabbed her arms and picked her off the ground and dragged her off.

"Hey guys what's wrong?" Griffon said as we placed her on the ground.

"What's wrong? What were you thinking Griffon?" Flannery said.

"What do you mean?" Griffon said confused.

"We mean these kids are Barcelona born and bred meaning that their parents are from here meaning that they probably hate our parents which means they hate us which means their children hate us too" I said.

"Guys not everyone's like that" Griffon said with a shrug.

"You don't know that Griff. I'll put up with this for now but if anyone says anything it's on you" I said poking my finger in her chest.

"Fine" Griffon said with a shrug.

I stormed back and plopped down next to Marth.

"Hey what's wrong?" Marth said wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Nothing" I said looking away.

"Hey don't be like" Marth said putting his finger under my chin to make me look at him. "We're on vacation let's just enjoy ourselves. Look all of your favorite stars are out" Marth said looking up at the sky.I looked at the sky which made me gasp.

"They are!" I Oracle and Chris walked over with logs of firewood and lighter fluid.

"Hi we found the logs and the firewood" Chris said.

"We got some chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows too" Oracle said pulling them out of her purse. "I couldn't find enough sticks but I got these long skewers" Oracle said holding up long pointed skewers

"Yay! We get to make s'mores!" I said as Oracle handed me a skewer.

"Fire's almost ready" Chris said setting up the logs in a circle.

"So Flannery how are the fireworks here" Griffon asked.

"They're amazing they have high quality stuff they're so amazing" Flannery said.

"I wish they'd start already" I said putting a marshmallow on my skewer.

"When Oracle and I walked by they were setting them up" Chris said throwing a match to middle of the circle. As soon as the flame was lit I stuck my marshmallow in it.

"Aqua don't leave it for to long it might burn" Griffon said.

"That's what I'm waiting for" I said. I pulled out the skewer and my marshmallow was fire. I blew the fire out and my marshmallow was black.

"I tried to tell you" Griffon said.

"No it's okay" I said. I waited for it to cool down for a few seconds before putting the marshmallow in my mouth which freaked everyone except Marth of course he liked me for my weirdness.

"Aqua how can you eat that?" Flannery asked.

"Don't you see me eating it now?" I said with my mouth full.

"So are you guys going to the after party tomorrow?" Aria asked.

"After party?" Griffon said.

"Yea the fireworks festival last two days and on the second day after all of the fireworks are gone all of the teenagers get the boardwalk to themselves until 2 o'clock" Flannery explained.

"In the morning?" Griffon said shocked.

"Yea" I said with a shrug.

"Uh Flannery, Aquanette can I talk to you right quick" Griffon said standing looked at each before we stood up and followed Griffon.

"Griffon what's wrong?" Flannery asked.

"We can't go tomorrow. We promised we were going to take Megan out tomorrow and she can't go to the after party besides you know Uncle Roy won't let us stay out until 2 o'clock" Griffon said.

"You let me handle Daddy I can talk him into almost anything and besides we can have Megan home before we go to the after party" I said.

"If you say so" Griffon said with a shrug. We interrupted when we heard a firework exploded into the sky.

Flannery let out a gasp. "The fireworks have started. C'mon!" She said staring to run back to the group.

Aria pulled Griffon down as soon as she was in arms length & started whispering to her. Griffon kept her eyes on the fireworks but listened to every word. When Griffon started whispering back, Aria started to look mad & glared at me & Flannery.

"Damn it, Griffon." I hissed under my breath.

After the fireworks, Griffon, Aria, Zane & Zach fell behind as we headed back. "I can't believe them!" Zane growled loudly.

I couldn't help but get a little mad at them, too. We never did a thing.

When we finally got back, the three of them grabbed me & Flannery by our arms & Griffon closed the door.

"What do you think your doing?" Flannery yelled at her.

Griffon folded her arms & huffed, "You're going to listen to what they have to say."

"Why should we?" I asked. The others let go of our arms.

Aria was the first one up, all the while trying to keep her bangs out of her eyes for us to see they were lit with fury. "Listen right here, Tuskinos. We may be Barcelona born and raised, but that doesn't mean we're like everyone else. How could you be so…uh." She stopped.

"The word you're looking for is 'stereotypical.'" Zane jumped in.

"Thank you." Aria called to him, smiling. She went back to being angry. "How could you be so stereotypical?!"

"So you don't hate the military?" Flannery asked.

Aria's expression softened. "No. My grandmother was in the military. My mother moved here when she was our age. They were put through so much, but my dad…He didn't care about whither or not her mom was military, he only bothered to believe that he loved her. Before I was born, it got so bad, they left, changed their names & looks. When they came back, no one ever suspected a thing. We were left alone."

"I moved from Central when I was a little kid." Zane began. "My parents immediately believed the speculation that the military was evil. I never did though, because, back home, one of my best friend's parents were both in the military. They practically disowned me for a long time. I eventually got them to believe me when I said the military wasn't evil." Aria suddenly jumped at Zane, catching him in a hug.

"What's with her?" I asked Griffon.

Griffon inched closer. "She has delayed reflexes. She laughs when everyone is done laughing & can't cry until the movie's over. It's only with her emotions though, she has excellent reflexes when it comes to dancing."

Flannery nodded. "Good to know."

While Aria cried & Zane tried to comfort her, Zach stepped up to convince us he was a good guy. "Frankly, before I met any of the other three, I was a military hater. I never realized how stupid I was being. They opened my eyes to the world outside Barcelona, & now I see everything in a new light. Only problem was that my parents dropped me off at Zane's house, knocked on the door & sped off. Haven't seen 'em since. Not exactly a sob story like the other two, but it does the cause justice."

"You shouldn't be so quick to judge." Griffon scolded. She opened the door & went inside while the other three went home, leaving us outside.

"Aqua?" Flannery asked.

"Yeah, I know." I snapped.

Flannery said it anyway, "They're right. We were acting like they were just like everyone else just because they live here. We had no right to accuse them."

**Flannery's POV  
**I felt so bad. I was usually a good person and didn't judge people but I did it so quickly yesterday. I really had to meditate hard on this so I sat down on the back porch to clear my mind I was interrupted by Oracle walking through the back gate.

"Hey cousin feeling better?" Oracle said walking onto the porch.

"Much better. What's going on with you today?" I asked.

"Nothing much I've been all over town getting all of this stuff on Grandma's list" Oracle said pulling out my grandmother's shopping list.

"She's making lunch today isn't she?" I said.

"Yes! She keeps saying that she needs to pack up all of her pots and pans but she keeps cooking things" Oracle said. "What ever happened to eating out?"

"You know Grandma doesn't like eating out she says it puts impure thoughts in your head" I said with a shrug.

"Yea I know. Well the reason she wanted me to come over here is because she wants to invite you all to lunch" Oracle said.

"Oh that's good I wanted my Mommy and Daddy to meet Grandpa Sage and Grandma Emelina" I said smiling.

"Good they've wanted to meet them too. Come by the temple at 2 o'clock" Oracle said standing up.

"We'll be there" I said standing up. I walked into the kitchen where my mom started pulling out food to make lunch. "Mom you can stop what you're doing"

"And why is that?" Mommy said standing up straight

"Because my Grandma Emmy's going to make us all lunch at the temple" I said.

"Oh that's nice of her. I can't wait to meet her" Mommy said.

"Aquanette!" I called out to her.

"Yea?" Aqua said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Grandma Emelina invited us to lunch" I said.

"Yay! Just for today I'm going to wear my special suspenders" Aqua said starting to walk out.

"Oh no you can't. I'm wearing suspenders today" I said.

"Dang" Aqua said snapping her fingers.

"Why can't you both wear suspenders?" Mommy said.

"Mom c'mon seriously?" Aqua said.

"You're right was I thinking?" Mommy said sarcastically.

"You can wear suspenders tonight" I said.

"Sweetness" Aqua said.

"Where are you going tonight?" Mommy asked.

"Back to the boardwalk for the second day of the fireworks festival." I explained.

"And we're going to the after party" Aqua added.

"After party?" Mommy said.

"Yea we might be out a little later than usual" Flannery said.

"How late is later?" Mommy asked putting her hand on her hip.

"1? 2 at the latest?" Aqua said with a shrug.

"In the morning?" Mommy said.

"Yea?" We said with a shrug.

"Girls it's not that I don't trust you and the boys but I don't you father is going to agree to something like that" Mommy said.

"Just let me talk to him you know I have a way with words" Aqua said.

"You can try Aquanette. I'm going to go get dressed" Mommy said walking out.

"So how are you going to get Daddy to say yes?" I asked.

"Flannery please a great Master never reveals her secrets" Aqua said.

"Fine, fine. I'm just going go get ready" I said.

**Aqua's POV  
**I walked into the living room where Daddy was watching baseball game on the T.V.

"Hey Daddy" I said sitting on the arm of his chair.

"Hey Aquanette I meant to tell you the game was on" Daddy said.

"That's great. Can I talk to you about something?" I said.

"Sure what is it?" Daddy said.

"The guys and I want to go out again tonight" I said.

"Uh sure okay" Daddy said with a shrug. "What time will you be back? 11?"

"A little later than that" I said.

"Like when Aquanette?" Daddy said folding his arms across his chest.

"Like 1 or 2" I said with a shrug.

"1 or 2? I'm afraid I can't let you do that Aquanette" Daddy said shaking his head.

"But why? You know Flannery, Griffon and I are really responsible and Megan won't be with us so you don't have to worry about her being out to late. Please?" I said batting my eyelashes.

"Well- I guess it couldn't hurt but be careful" Daddy said.

"Mwah!" I said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Daddy" I said standing up and walking out to meet up with Flannery and Griffon.

"Well?" Griffon said.

"We're going out tonight!" I said.

"Yes!" Flannery and Griffon said giving me a high five.

"Aquanette you're like some evil mastermind!" Flannery said.

"Yea I kinda am" I said with a smirk.

**Flannery's POV  
**We arrived at the temple and Aqua rang the bell and Oracle answered the door.

"Hey guys come on in" Oracle said moving aside to let us in.

"Hey Oracle where's Grandma and Grandpa?" Aqua asked.

"Grandma's in the kitchen and Grandpa's doing an alchemy lesson he should be done soon" Oracle said looking at her watch.

"Nice glasses Oracle" Alex said.

"Oh thank you. My Daddy sent them to me" Oracle said pushing her glasses up some.

"That's wonderful Oracle" Mommy said.

"Can you see better?" I asked.

"Yes my Daddy said they make these glasses especially for people who have Retinitis Pigmentosa" Oracle said.

"Wow do a lot of people in your family have Retinitis Pigmentosa?" Griffon asked.

"It's just my Grandfather, my dad had it, my Uncle Kenshin that's Oracle's dad, Oracle, Aqua and me." I explained. "It all started with my great grandfather"

"Wow" Griffon said.

"Grandmama Emelina and Maria are here!" Oracle called out to them.

"Emelina and Maria" Megan said with a thinking face on. "Where have I heard those names before?"

"I'm coming!" My grandmother said. She walked out in a crisp white apron. "Oh little Maria" Grandma said walking over to Aqua and pinching her cheeks. "I missed you little one"

"I missed you too Grandma" Aqua said rubbing her cheeks.

"Grandmami this is Roy and Riza Mustang our foster parents" I said.

"It's very nice to finally meet you Mrs. Tusinko" Mommy said shaking her hand.

"Oh please call me Emelina not to be confused with little Emmy here" Grandma said pinching my cheeks.

"Grandma this is Griffon and Megan Heights they are our foster-cousins" I said.

"Oh aren't you the cutest little pumpkin" Grandma said pinching her cheek.

"Uh thank you ma'am" Megan said. "Ow" Megan said rubbing her cheek.

"Trust me you get use to it hon" I said rubbing her head.

"And this is Marth Bennet and Thatcher Lesser these are Aqua and Griffon's boyfriends" I said.

"Nice to meet you ma'am" Marth said.

"Come here let me see him" Grandma said cupping her hands around Marth's face.

"What's she doing?" Thatch whispered to me.

"She's testing to his face to see if he's strong enough" I whispered back.

"Why?" Thatch said confused.

"No one knows" I said shaking my head.

"Your turn" Grandma said cupping her hands around Thatch's face and pinching his cheeks a little. "Ah you both look like wonderful boys"

"Thank you ma'am" Marth and Thatch started sniffing the air. "Grandma what's that smell?"

"I'm roasting a baby pig out in garden" Grandma said.

"Oh that poor baby pig!" I said into Alex's chest. I could eat pig no problem but I don't think I can do it when the pig was roasting in my back yard.

"Thank you for reminding me I have to get back to that now" Grandma said walking into the backyard.

"She seems nice" Griffon said.

"You'll have to excuse her she likes to touch faces for some reason" Aqua said a shrug.

"Well most grandmothers are like that. C'mon let me show you around the temple" Oracle said.


	16. Can You Take It All In?

When we started eating, Griffon, as always, hardly ate anything.

"Are you okay?" Grandma asked. "You barely ate."

Griffon nodded. "Yes, I never eat much."

"That can't be healthy." Grandma commented.

"It's nothing, really. I'm perfectly fine." Griffon assured her.

No matter how much she said it, Griffon started to look a little pale. "Are you absolutely sure?" I asked.

"No," Griffon finally admitted, "I…excuse me." She picked up her back & walked out.

Aqua looked around at everyone. "That's not normal. Thatch, you're the one working at a hospital. Go see if she's okay."

"Didn't you know? This has happened before." Thatch said. "She's gonna be fine after about an hour of time away."

"What does she do to feel better?" Aqua wondered.

Thatch shrugged. "I have no clue. She just leaves looking really pale & sick. When she comes back, she's a ball of sunshine."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

Thatch just shrugged & went back to staring at his plate. "I guess."

**Griffon's POV  
**Okay, I feel really sick. Suddenly, I wish I hadn't left my leg braces, 'cause my legs got really wobbly. I walked out to the street & plopped down on a bench.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked. It was Aria. "You don't look too good."

"So I've heard." I grumbled. "I just don't feel very good."

Aria sat down next to me & tried to get her hair out of her eyes. "Do tell."

"I just feel like all my energy has been drained." I told her.

Aria reached into my bag & pulled out one of my papa's research journals. "Let's see if the answer's in here." She began flipping through the pages.

"What's it say? I haven't read it yet." I informed her.

"Let's see." Aria stopped at a page & started reading. "Okay. 'Our second child has been born. The most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She has the perfect combination of our looks with one complication. Her eyes are like mine & she has the ability to use alchemy by thought. To many, this may seem good, but her not eating alarms me. She is often draining people's memories to feed her source of nutrition. It seems, to me, that she needs to drain the life force of others to keep herself alive, eliminating her need for food. But how long will she be able to do this before she-'"

"Stop!" I yelled. I felt tears running down my face & a pain in my back. I understood what he meant. How long before my draining life force killed someone?

Aria pulled me up & forced me down the street. "That's it, we're going to see Katrina."

"Who?" I managed to ask.

"My gran. She was the first, & possibly only, female alchemist. The Bending Light Alchemist, able to do so many things with light, darkness, &, not to mention, life forces." Aria explained. "Now she's a fortune teller. She has uncanny predictions."

"So great…she can help me, right?" I moaned. I couldn't stand anymore, so I just dropped to the ground.

Aria flipped out her red cell phone. "Zane, hey! Get over to…uh, I'll text you the street. Just call Zach & have him go to Gran's shop & tell her to clear her schedule for a very important patient." She stopped & listened. "I don't care in you just got in the shower. Get out! This is life or death!…No, not me. Griffon! Now hang up & do what I told you!"

I looked up at her & watched as she sent a quick text & stuffed the phone back into her jacket. "What's going on?" I choked.

"Shh. We're gonna figure out a way to get you through this." Aria got down on her knees & gave me a hug. "Has it been this bad before?"

I just shook my head. I would black out & I never remembered anything for an hour, at least.

"Do my eyes look weird?" I asked her.

Aria looked me in the eyes, shrugged & said, "Griffon's, in mythology, are part cat, right?" It was her subtle way of telling me that my eyes were in their normal-ish cat form.

"Great." I groaned.

"Take deep breaths & calm down. I'll be right back." Aria told me. She ran into one of the nearby stores.

A car pulled up next to me in the street, the person behind the wheel panting. "Are you okay?" The boy asked.

"Just get me in the car." I begged him.

Zane did as he was told & ran into the store I told him Aria was in. A few minutes later, they came back out & they hurried off to the shop Aria seemed to keep talking about.

"I don't want them to worry." I gasped as the pain in my back increased.

Aria climbed into the back seat. "Hold on, G. Hey, did you know that your real name is Hadrea?" She was trying to distract me.

My eyes shot open & I screamed. "Ah! For God's sake! Hurry up!" I fumbled for my phone & tossed it to Aria. "Call Thatch. Tell him & the twins what's going on."

"Aye, aye, captain." Aria flipped open the phone & started pressing buttons.

**Thatch's POV  
**My phone started to vibrate. "Could you excuse me?" I stood up & walked away. "Hello?"

"Hey there. You remember me." Aria said. How could I forget that voice, she was way perky.

"Aria? What are you doing with Griffon's phone?" I asked. I looked over my shoulder, where the twins were watching me. "Where is she?"

"She's freaking out. We're taking her to my Gran's shop on the end of Main." Aria told me.

My heart started racing. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"For now." There was some talk on the other end of the line. "She wants you & the twins to get down here."

I looked back at the group. "I think I can only get one twins away from everyone."

Aria started talking to some one. "One finger for Flannery, two for Aqua."

"Make up your mind." I hissed.

"Apparently she doesn't care." Aria yelled at me. I almost dropped my phone, spooked by her yell.

"Thatch, who are you talking to?" Flannery wondered, coming up to me.

I held up a hand & put the phone to my ear again. "I'm coming with Flannery."

The phone went dead. I started to leave. "Where are you going?" Flannery called.

"Flannery, follow me." I hissed, going back over to her. "Something's wrong with your cousin & she want's you there."

Flannery told the group she was leaving with me & we ran out. "Where is she?"

"Just follow me!" I snapped at her.

Flannery nodded.

**Griffon's POV  
**"Come on. We're here." Zane yelled, pulling to a stop in front of a large estate.

I was lifted out of the car & carried inside by Zane. "Thanks." I breathed.

I remember Gran now. Bonnie Thompson was her name. She has kept her military past hidden very well. Every kid in Barcelona called her Gran & she held free palm readings for kids after school, snacks provided. The craziest thing about her, other than her nasal voice, was her thick bug-eyed glasses. She had real short, gray hair & blue eyes that were especially bright for a woman of her years.

"Griffon? Oh, come in. Zach told me that you were in trouble." She greeted, ushering us in from the bottom porch step. "I'll find a way to fix you up."

"What's going on?" Aria asked as soon as my phone was closed.

I screamed again & ground my teeth together in an attempt to keep quiet.

"She's either subconsciously learning a new trick using alchemy, or she is in dire need of energy." Gran stated. She gave me a small cup of tea. "This will dull the pain for now."

"Thank you." I whispered. Taking a drink, my insides lurched, but I managed to keep it down.

"She's burning up." Zane informed us, pressing a hand to my forehead.

I shrugged off my jacket to cool down & Aria ran to get a cold washcloth. Gran came back with some bottles & jars filled with weird uh, things.

"I think I know how to help." Gran told me. "It is obvious, to me, that there is something bottled up inside you. I'm going to do my best to release it."

I nodded & watched as much as I could as she mixed things in a stone bowl. She took my hands & used a thick liquid to paint a character on each palm. Then, she took Aria's arm & painted characters all along her left arm. "You are her lifeline. She is the one for you to protect." She told her granddaughter.

I noticed the marks begin to glow. "W-What's going on?"

"Time will tell." Aria whispered, placing her hands on either side of my head. "This may hurt a little."

Suddenly, a rush of memories came flowing through my head. Good, bad & in between. The pain moved to my entire back & Aria jumped back.

"Gran, what's happened to Griffon?" She gasped, a little scared.

Gran put a comforting hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "You did everything right, dear. That's what was ready to burst inside Griffon. We just gave it a little push, is all."

The pain stopped, but the three were staring at me. "Aria, the door. Zane, a blanket for Miss Heights." Zane tossed a blanket over my shoulders right before a knock came to the door.

"She's over here. Don't touch her, though. Not yet." Aria informed whoever was there, leading Flannery & Thatch inside.

Gran ripped the blanket away. "Behold the beauty of an Ancienta."

"A what?" Zane asked.

I looked over my shoulder & gasped at what I saw. Wings. Black, feathery wings moving forward & backward gently, lifting me about a centimeter off the floor, before melting back into my skin, disappearing from sight.

Gran answered, "Ancienta are an almost extinct species of humans with amazing capabilities. Aria, Griffon…& you, young girl," She looked deep into Flannery's eyes, "all have Ancienta blood. That is why your eyes look so strange."

"What's so weird about their eyes?" Zane asked.

Aria shut her eyes tightly, opening them again to reveal they were black with red pupils. Flannery just shifted uncomfortably. "Go ahead child. You are surrounded by friends." Gran urged Flannery.

**Flannery's POV  
**Who the heck was this woman? But she said I was surrounded by friends and her aura wasn't too threatening so I had to calm myself down and I closed my eyes. I opened eyes again and my hair was white with black streaks and I had my all seeing eye.

"Flannery how come you didn't tell anyone?" Griffon said.

"Are you kidding? The military is always looking for something to study if they find this out then my sister and I might get studied!" I said changing my hair and eyes back to normal.

"This again" Zane said rolling his eyes.

"She does have a point" Aria said.

"Sister? Yes you did seem familiar you're Ozai's little girl" Gran said smiling.

"You knew my Daddy?" I asked.

"Oh yes he was a very sweet boy funny and goofy too. He loved Kitana so much go into your father's room in the temple and you'll see what I mean" Gran said.

"Um…okay" I said with a shrug.

"Um Gran is Griffon going to be okay?" Thatch asked holding Griffon's hand.

"Yes she will I know you kids want to go out to the big after party tonight all she needs is a little rest to charge her" Gran said nodding her head.

"Can you stand?" I asked.

"Yea the energy is coming back bit by bit" Griffon said standing up.

"You understand we can't anyone just yet" I said.

"I understand I guess you guys aren't crazy all of the time" Griffon said with a shrug. I glared at her before slapping her upside the head like I did Aquanette almost ever day.

"Ow! You can't hit me I just a near-death experience!" Griffon said.

"You're alive aren't you?" I said folding my arms across my chest.

"Well- I- shoot!' Griffon said snapping her fingers. "She got me again" Griffon said shaking her head.

"It's nice to see you're back to your semi normal self Griff" Thatch said leaning in and giving her passionate kiss.

"I'm going to let you two make out I'll wait for you outside" I said walking outside as Griffon wrapped her arms around Thatch's neck.

We returned back to the temple and Aqua and the boys were talking three of the alchemy students they were around Megan's age.

"Hey is everything okay?" Aqua asked.

"Yea I'll explain everything later who are you talking to?" I asked.

"Oh Flannery, Griffon, Thatch this is Olivia, Dane, and Cody they're training with Grandpa" Aqua said.

"Nice to meet you all" I said with a smile. I loved little kids.

"Are you the Emelina, Master Sage keeps talking about?" Olivia asked.

"Why yes I am" I said.

"You're much prettier in person" Dane said blushing.

"Aww you are too cute" I said kissing his cheek I don't think Alex liked that to much even if he was a little boy.

"Okay everyone I made tarts" Grandma said walking outside with a tray of dessert.

"Oooo thank you Grandma" Aqua said standing up and taking a dessert off the tray. We all took one except for Griffon of course.

"Just please take one they're really good you can take a small one" I said.

"Fine" Griffon said biting into the tart. "It is good" She said with a shrug.

After we left the temple we had to start to get ready. After Griffon took a quick nap thanks to Aqua to regain her strength, Aqua, Griffon and I were fixing our make up in the bathroom when Megan poked her head in.

"I'm coming with you right?" Megan said.

"Yes Megan" We said.

"And you're going to buy me a corn dog right?" Megan asked.

"Someone will" Aqua said putting on some eyeliner.

"I have a question" Megan said.

"Yea Meg?" I said applying some mascara.

"Why are you guys going to stay out tonight until 2?" Megan asked.

"You'll understand in about 5 years baby girl" Griffon said.

"What happens in 5 years?" Megan said confused.

"You'll be 13 and will understand what it's like to be a teenager" Griffon said.

"Teenagers" Megan said before walking out.

**Aria's POV  
**I was pacing the boardwalk waiting for Griffon. I kept looking down at the characters Gran had written on my arm. They meant 'Guardian Angel,' which scared me. I'm no angel, ask anyone. And my friends have to protect me, never the other way around.

"Aria Cerberus Wolfe, calm down before you wear a hole in the ground." Ozzie called.

"Leave me alone, Oz. I have to make sure Griffon's alright." I snapped back at him.

The nine-year-old's eyes watered up. "You're not acting like yourself, Ari." He whimpered.

My dearest brother, Oswald Heracles Wolfe. _My_ angel. He was normal. No one but me & Gran had the blood of an Ancienta in our family. I knelt down in front of him & gave him a hug. "Just being overly dramatic." I laughed.

"You would be the one to do that." He joined in laughing.

"Ozzie!" A girl yelled. I turned, standing up, & watched as Griffon ran past me to Ozzie. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Are you doing better? I heard you got your wings today." Ozzie asked in a hushed voice. He stopped & stared past her at the others. "Who is that?"

Griffon looked over her shoulder. "Who? Meg? My little sister. I'll introduce you."

"No, it's fine. You don't have to. Quit, let me go." Oz begged as Griffon dragged him over to a little girl.

I closed my eyes. Griffon: Ancienta with ability to transmute her body. Cat-like eyes & abilities suggest her family is from the Animalian Clan. Flannery (And Aquanette): Ancienta, unknown powers. Single eye change & hair colour suggests they're from the Systani Clan. Me, Aria: Reversed eyes, so to speak. Powers over gravity, space, time, etc. which means I'm from the Freedon Clan. Only one more Ancienta left, from the Natur Clan. I know She's close, but she's keeping herself hidden.

By the time I opened my eyes again, Zane & Zach were there with a few friends from school. "Uh, you're staring at me. Why?"

"Uh, your arm's glowing. Why?" Mystic, Gaia & Gale said together. Those three were insane.

I turned my arm over, true to their words, the black letters were glowing green. Maybe not so insane. "Yikes."

"Are you okay?" Mystic asked. She was the only one , Zach not included, to be adopted.

I pulled my jacket on. "I'm fine, just something my Gran gave me."

Mystic pushed the sleeve up to look at it. "Whatever." She murmured. "I'm gonna go look around."

I grabbed Griffon & Flannery in a hug. "Hey guys. I know I'm late saying that, but I had to."

"Who's that?" A little girl asked, tugging Griffon's jeans.

Griffon picked the girl up. "Megan, this is Aria Wolfe. Aria, meet Megan."

"Hey there." I said.

"Your hair is long." Megan immediately told me. "I wish mine could be that long. It's pretty."

I looked down at my hair, which went down to just above my knees. "Yeah, I guess it is. Thanks."

"How'd you get your bangs a different colour than the rest of your hair? Is it dyed?" Megan continued to question me.

"No, I was born with it like this." I answered. "Oh, but I did dye the tips." It was cool with me if she asked me questions. My hair was weird, with red bangs & dyed the tips black. The rest of my hair was black with red tips. My hair was really bright compared to Flannery's though.

"That's so cool." Megan gasped.

"I guess." I shrugged. "Wait, I think I feel something." I turned toward the booths.

Zane sighed & rubbed his temples. "She's going into 'Comic Junkie' mode."

"You know me too well. There's a comic book around here & I will find it." I claimed.

Zach chuckled. "It's at the shooting gallery."

I zoomed off as soon as he was finished. That comic was mine. There was a huge crowd in front of the gallery, trying to get a chance to shoot. A bunch of guys, no less. "Move it." I yelled. I pushed my way up to the front.

"Do you want to shoot little girl?" The man running the gallery asked.

"Let me see." I thought it over. "If I hit the target more times that the others do, I get the comic, right?" I pointed to the comic book hanging from a post, still In great condition.

"If you want it." The man answered.

I handed him the money. "Sign me up." I yelled, getting ready.

A few rounds later, the comic was _mine!_

"See ya, losers." I called as I rejoined Zane & Zach. "I got it!"

**Megan's POV  
**"So what do you want to first?" Marth asked.

"Let's go play some games" Aqua suggested.

"That's cool Megan do you want me to win you something?" Marth said looking down at me.

I let out a gasp. "Yea!" I said nodding my head.

"We'll see you guys in a minute we're going to get some prizes" Aqua said as Marth put a hand on her waist.

We walked over to a basketball game and Marth put some money on the counter.

"Okay here's what you're going to do young man you're going to get six basketballs if you make 3 out of six then you get one prize and if you make all six shots then you get two prizes" The man said.

"Cool" Marth said picking up one of the basketball and make the first shot flawlessly and made like every shot like that.

"Marth I thought you were on the football team" I said looking up at him.

"I know but I need something to fall back on just in case my football scholarship doesn't follow through" Marth said spinning a basketball on his fingers.

"Okay pick your two" The man said.

"Aquanette which one did you want?" Marth said

"Oooo I'll take that big dog it looks just like Goliath" Aqua said pointing to a black dog.

"Here you go" The man said handing it to Aqua. "And for you little miss?"

"Hmm…I'll take the bear" I said pointing to the giant teal colored teddy bear.

"Here you go" The man said handing me the bear. "And you kids have fun at the after party tonight I'm open all night so come back and see me" The man said.

"Will do" Aqua and Marth said.

"Aquanette, Marth can I go to the after party?" I asked.

"Are you 13?" Aqua asked.

"No" I said.

"Then you can't go" Aqua said.

"Aww man" I said looking down.

"Don't worry Meg maybe in a couple of years" Marth said.

I had to say I like Marth. He was a lot nicer to me than Alex was. After we rode a couple of rides we sat down on the beach and roasted marshmallows I noticed Ozzie was sitting alone roasting his marshmallow so I scooted closer to him.

"Hey it's Ozzie right?" I asked.

"Uh yea" He said with a shrug.

"Well I'm Megan" I said with a small smile.

"Uh yea I know" He said quietly.

"You know you should speak up more. My cousin Flannery says that when you speak up more that people will want to listen to what you say but if your quiet and your words don't get heard then you just fade into the back ground and who knows? You might have had something important to say but no one would have heard you because you were so quiet" I said.

"I'll try to remember that" He said a little louder.

"There you go" I said with a small and I talked all night but we stopped of course once all of the pretty fireworks went off. Once the fireworks were done the big kids took me back home. I got dressed in my PJs and Griffon tucked me in.

"I'll be back later baby girl" Griffon said. "Have sweet dreams" Griffon said before kissing my forehead.

I had to thank the twins one day, they made me sister come out of her shell bit by bit.

**Aria's POV  
**All the way back home, all I heard was Megan, Megan, Megan. I tucked Ozzie into his bed & brushed his hair out of his face. "You're in L-O-V-E." I said in a sing-song tone.

"You're wrong. She's just a great girl to talk to. A lot better than listening to your comic babble."

I kissed his cheek. "Gran is doing a séance in the attic if you need anything. There's chocolate cake, milk, cereal & other stuff in the kitchen. If you be good, I'll have Zane make his seafood nachos tomorrow." Dude knows how to cook, & since Ozzie loves seafood, I use that to make him behave.

"Okay." Ozzie said, turning on his side & closing his eyes. "G'night, sis."

"Night, bub." I called, turning out the light.

I closed the front door, locking it with my key, & walked down the steps. Zane, who was waiting to take me back to the party, held out a hand.

"Save it for the princess." I told him, pushing his hand away.

"And who would that be?" Zane asked. Like he didn't know.

I pointed across the street at a couple of girls. "Your stalker. You know, Krystal."

"Kris isn't like that. She knows I don't like her like that. My heart's with someone else." Zane answered.

When we got back, all I could think about who Zane liked. So I asked to talk to him alone.

"We're best friends, right?" I asked.

"Yes, of course."

"So be honest with me, who do you like?"

Zane smiled. "No one. I love someone."

"Ohh, she must be very lucky." I said, looking down.

"Definitely. I've loved her ever since I met her."

"Really? Well, since we're best friends, I wanna meet her. Call her, she must be here." I told him.

"Uh okay." Zane agreed, looking a little nervous. He pulled out his phone & dialed the number.

I was watching Gaia & Gale, expecting one of them to get a call, when my phone rang. I frowned, a little confused as I answered it. "Hello?"

"I love you." Zane said, talking into the phone. It took me a minute to realize it was me he had called.

I dropped my phone. "You…love me?" I asked. I knew I liked him, but not vise versa.

He turned his phone off, picked up mine, & got closer. "I did say it, didn't I?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but why?"

"I have my reasons." He whispered. Then, he leaned down & kissed me.


	17. Time To Go

**Griffon's POV  
**We were waiting on the boardwalk for Aria and Zane to show up. When they did Flannery quickly ran over to Aria and grabbed her shoulders.

"Congratulations! You did it!" Flannery said jumping up and down clapping her hands. What on earth was she doing now?

"Um excuse me?" Aria said blushing a little.

"Te amo!" Flannery said clasping her hands together.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"It means 'I love you' in Spanish" Aqua said putting her hand on her hip.

"Yes! It means that Aria and Zane have declared their love for each other!" Flannery said.

"How did you know?" Aria said.

"Oh please I can sense romantic aura miles away. I could sense it from your house. I love romantic aura it makes me so happy!" Flannery said smiling.

"So that's why you're so happy all the time" I said.

"Yes the people in Central are in love all the time and it make me happy. Especially the older couples the longer the love the stronger the romantic which makes me even happier!" Flannery said jumping up slightly.

"Can we go now? All this romantic crud is ruining my appetite" Aqua said rubbing her belly.

"In 3, 2, 1" I said counting on my fingers.

"And it's back let's go get something to eat" Aqua said taking Marth's hand.

"Okay what do you want to eat?" Aria asked as Zane took her hand.

"Let's go get some ribs and crawfish this is a fishing town after all" Aqua said. "And you are trying some crawfish or I am going to shove it down your throat!"

"Okay fine I'll eat a couple if it'll make you happy" I said rolling her eyes. She always was trying to get me to eat.

"Yay!" Aqua led us into some seafood bar that was having some sort of eating contest. Eat a 9 course meal and the meal is free and they give you 350 but if you don't finish the meal is 350 dollars.

"Aqua are you sure about this? I know you eat like a football team but this a 350 dollar meal" Flannery said.

"Flannery don't worry I got this." Aqua said with a shrug.

"What can I get you little lady?" The man said.

"I'll have your ten piece meal please" Aqua said.

"Are you sure about that little lady?" The man said.

"Oh yea" Aqua said smiling.

"Alright then coming right up" The man said stepping into the kitchen.

We all got something to eat I just got a simple appetizer I wasn't that hungry as always.

"Done" Aqua said wiping her face."Wow fastest time ever. Here you are" The man said handing Aqua the money.

"Nice I can buy more food with this" Aqua said.

"Aqua why don't you invest it?" I said.

"Invest it huh? Nah I'm just going to go with my first plan" Aqua said counting out the money.

"Waste of time" Flannery said.

"Yea I know" I said with a we left there we spent the whole night playing games and dancing. Thatch won me another dragon it was blue this time. Before we headed in for the night Oracle and the twins wanted to check out this booth that served only local cuisine.

"Here we are" Oracle said.

"Eww what is that?" I said pointing to one of the dishes.

"That's sheep stomach" Flannery said calmly.

"And you people eat that?" I said.

"Yes. You can fry it, bake it, stuff different things into it and make it into a sandwich" Aqua said with a shrug.

"But it's best if you eat it raw" Oracle said. "You want some of this Chris?"

"Nah I'm good I've already eaten this once this week and that's all I need" Chris said.

"Your lost. Sir can I get three sheep stomachs please?" Oracle said.

"Sure you guys got the last three" The man said handing them three napkins with sheep's stomach on it.

"Awesome thanks" Aqua said taking a bite. I couldn't watch as she did that. When I turned around they had all finished it off.

"Mmm that was good" Oracle said wiping her face.

"How can you eat that? It must make your breathe smell horrible" Griffon said.

"Believe me Griff when you've eaten as long as we have your body adjusts to the smell for some odd reason" Aqua said with a returned back home and changed into PJs. All that dancing made me so tired I was sure I was going to get to sleep tonight. After I walked out of the bathroom I crawled into bed with Thatch.

"You have fun tonight?" Thatch said.

"Yes I loved it. It was a good think I had my leg braces" I said. "It's just a shame that we're leaving in two days" I said with a shrug.

"Don't worry once we get back to Central it'll be football season so it'll be parties all of the time and crazy dances and then prom" Thatch said.

"I can't wait" I said before giving him a small kiss.

**Megan's POV  
**It was the morning after the big kids took me to the fair I love the bear Marth won for me. Griffon said she was going to take me for a morning walk. I walked into the big kids room and they were all knocked out.

"Griffon" I said shaking her.

"What is it Meg?" She said sleepily.

"You said we were going on a walk today" I said.

"Oh c'mon Meg you know I don't get much sleep just give me this" Griffon said moving to face Thatch now.

"Fine I better one of the twins will take me" I said moving to Aqua's bed. "Aqua you want to go on a walk with me" I asked poking at her.

"Maybe later Meg try again in like 4 hours" Aqua said.

"But it'll 2 o'clock then" I let out a sigh. "Yea that sounds about right"

"Flannery?" I asked. I looked at over at Flannery and Alex and they looked so peaceful and besides they're teenagers they don't get up until 5 o'clock anyway.

"Teenagers" I said walking out.

"Knock knock." A voice yelled from behind the door. "Hey guys, open up."

I opened the door to Aria & Ozzie. "Hey guys, I thought you would still be asleep."

"Nope. Zane is an early bird, no matter how late he goes to bed. He called to see if I had bribed Ozzie, which I did. Now he's coming over to make us some amazing food & the K.o.S. wanted to know if you'd like to try it." Aria babbled.

"K.o.S.? What's that?" I asked.

"It's an acronym for King of the Sea." Aria explained. "That's one of my nicknames for Oz."

Ozzie stepped up. "So, you wanna come over?"

"I can't ask. Everyone else is still asleep." I told them.

Aria walked in & grabbed Griffon's ear. "Roll over if Megan can come over to my house."

Griffon rolled over, mumbling something that sounded like 'Back by one.'

"There's your answer. I'll write a note & then we'll go." Aria cheered.

Ozzie whispered in my ear. "She had a Red Bull before she came here. It does crazy things to her 'cause she normally just has fruit juice."

"Oh." I said. "She a health nut?"

"Most of the time. She says it's for her career." Ozzie scoffed in disbelief. I giggled.

"Let's roll, munchkins." Aria chimed, pushing us out.

**Flannery's POV  
**I got up around 2 o'clock Alex was still asleep as were the others so I took some books into the living and began to read. I looked in my dad's room like Gran said and I found two leather bound books it was a diary and a journal They belonged to my mom and dad. I found out stuff about my dad that I never knew. He loved chess and training, hated broccoli and going swimming and was looking that one girl he could spend his life with. That's probably where I get my hopeless romantic side. I was on the part where my dad met my mom when Megan walked in.

"Flannery you're up" Megan said.

"Hey Meg I can't sleep in for long so while the others were sleeping I decided to get some reading done" I said with a shrug.

"What are you reading?" Megan asked.

"My dad's journal from when he was around my age. You want me to read it to you?" I said.

"Sure" Megan said climbing into my lap.

"Okay then. 'Dear journal I met the most beautiful girl today. She was being attacked by some bandits but I handled them and sent them crying to their mommies. She wasn't like the others she actually thanked me for saving her. Her name was Kitana-Mei Long and she had just moved into town. What made her come to Barcelona I don't even know? She is was perfect, long wavy chocolate brown hair and eyes as blue as the ocean water. I wanted to see again' " I said as I read it.

"Wow your daddy must have been really nice" Megan said.

"Yea he was" I said with a small smile

Megan jumped up. "Oh, I think I'm late."

"For what?" I asked.

"I was talking to Ozzie & I mentioned that I was writing a story. He said he would really like to read it, so I promised I would stop by once you guys woke up to give him my notebooks." Megan explained.

"When did you talk to Oz?" I wondered.

Megan laughed, "He & Aria came by while you were asleep & invited me over. She tricked Gigi into agreeing in her sleep. She'll say yes to anything if she's sleepy enough.""Alright. I'll take you over there in a little bit." I told her.

Megan and I were still going through my parents' journals when my mother walked holding the phone.

"Oh Flannery you're up Oracle's on the phone" Mommy said handing me the phone and walking out.

"Thanks mom!" I called out to her before putting the phone to my ear. "Yea Oracle?"

"Flannery, Grandpa says that you and Aquanette need to get here as soon as possible. Grandma finally ordered a truck to get our things move to Central but as you already know we have a lot of stuff in the temple so we're going to need some help. But knowing Grandpa he'll turn it into some sort of training sessions" Oracle said.

"Okay I'll be there soon" I said before hanging up. "Sorry Meg but I gotta go" I said placing her on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Meg asked.

"I'm going to the temple to help my grandparents pack up." I said standing up. I walked into our room and Aqua was still fast asleep. "Aquanette wake up"

"Five more minutes please" Aqua said pulling the covers over her face.

"No five minutes we gotta go. Grandma Emmy finally rented the moving truck and now they can be out of here sooner and Oracle said we've got to help them move." I said pulling the covers off of her.

"Fine" Aqua said sitting up.

"Um Aqua didn't you have a belly button ring last night?" I asked looking at her bare belly button.

"Huh?" Aqua said looking down at her belly button. "Aww crud" Aqua said shooting up and scrambling around the room. "Do you still have yours?"

"Yea" I said slightly lifting up my shirt to show off my gold belly button ring. Aqua and I found a guy who did button piercing and tattoos for kids under 18 and it was some how legal. We both got belly button rings, I got two cartilages, and Aqua got three cartilages and an Industrial rod. My dad knew about the earrings he thought my mom took us and my mom thought my dad took and they somehow never asked each other about it. My dad didn't know about the belly button ring because our shirts always covered them. The only time we showed them off when we went out with friends or to a party.

"Ah hah! I found it!" Aqua said holding up a silver belly button ring. She quickly put it in. "Okay I'm ready to go"

"Let's get going" I arrived at the temple and saw a huge moving truck. We saw Oracle carrying a box to the truck.

"Oh hey guys Grandpa is in the main room" Oracle said.

"Hey did grandma finally pack up her pots and pans?" I asked.

"Yes and no" Oracle said.

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.

"Well Grandpa Sage said that Grandma Emmy absolutely had to pack up her pots and pans so I helped her when I woke up this morning but then I found out that she went out and bought 250 dollars for new pots and pans just so she could make food today" Oracle said putting the box in the truck.

"Honestly that doesn't surprise me" I said shaking my head.

"C'mon we can't keep Grandpa waiting" Aqua walked into the main room and Grandpa was sitting in his chair sipping tea.

"Hey Grandpa we're here to help" I said.

"Ah good. I need all the help I can get. Maria you know that little jade elephant that's always in the meditation room?" Grandpa said.

"Yea" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Well it's in the oak tree I need you to go down there and get it for me" Grandpa said.

"What was it doing in the tree?" Aqua said.

"I was meditating on the top of the tree and accidentally left it there. I need it back before I move to Central" Grandpa said.

"Your turning this into some sort training session aren't you?" Aqua said putting her hands on her hips.

"Quite the contrary I just want my elephant back" Grandpa said sipping his tea.

"Fine" Aqua said.

"The grappling claws are in the shed and be most careful that elephant is a family heirloom I plan on giving it to one to one of your girls or Oracle on the day of your wedding." Grandpa said.

"Isn't there anything else we can get as a family heirloom?" Aqua asked.

"Yes there is but that elephant is very important." Grandpa let out a sigh.

"Fine I'll go get the stupid elephant. Flannery's just going to get it anyway not like I'm getting married first" Aqua said mumbling the last part before she stormed out.

"Emelina there are 250 pounds of firewood in the back. Your grandmother and I want to save money on firewood so we're bringing our own. Those tree trucks need to be cut into thirds, wrapped up, and carried to the truck" Grandpa said.

"Yes sir" I said. It was smart not to argue with Grandpa or I might be hit over the head with his dragon cane. That thing use to give me nightmares at night it was a sleek black cane with a dragon eye handle with these ruby red eyes. My Dad got it for him for him when he got his military bonus.

I walked out to the shed and saw Oracle putting some of the things into boxes.

"Hey Oracle" I said putting on a pair of lumberjack gloves.

"Hey" Oracle said picking up the box.

"What's he got you doing?" I asked picking up an axe.

"Oh nothing just packing everything that's in every room of the temple. You?" Oracle asked.

"Oh something really I get to chop up wood so Grandma and Grandpa don't have to spend that much money on firewood.

"What about Aqua?" Oracle asked.

"Somehow our precious family heirlooms in the old oak try and now Aqua has to get it" I said.

"That old man is twisted" Oracle said.

"Yea" I said with a took about 5 hours to chop all of the wood and my arm was killing me. I moved the last few pieces of firewood to the truck and as soon as I did I flopped down on the ground. I looked up and saw Aqua still trying to climb the tree and then falling on her butt.

"How's it going sis?" I asked as she sat on the ground.

"Horrible!" Aqua said rubbing her butt. "That stupid elephant is on the freaking top branch and the branches on this thing are so old I keep falling and I can't get it down. I've been trying for like 6 hours" Aqua said folding her arms across her chest. "Do you think you can help me Flannery?"

"Well since you asked so nicely" I said standing up. I walked over to the tree and looked up into it. "Okay I think I got it" I said starting to climb on the tree. I got about 20 feet of the ground before sitting on one of the branches. "Okay Aquanette get ready!" I called down to her.

"Uh okay" She said confused.

I took the butt of the ax and banged it on the on the truck which caused the tree to shake I saw the jade elephant whoosh past me.

"Aqua catch it!" I said to her.

I saw Aqua run a little before catching it in her hands. "I got him!"

"Good job Aquanette" I said starting to climb down.

"You know I like this little guy now that he's on the ground. Hopefully if I get married first I'll name him peanut" Aqua said as I placed my feat on the ground. "What would you name him?" Aqua said handing it to me.

"I like jumbo" I said with a shrug.

"Why jumbo?" Aqua asked.

"That's the joke Aquanette because he's tiny" I said with shaking my head.

"Oh! I get that is funny!" Aqua said laughing a little.

"Now let's Oracle with these boxes and then get home to go back to sleep" I said.

**Griffon's POV  
**When Thatch & I woke up, we agreed to walk around for a little until we got to Gran's. I just walked into a random shop for no reason & started looking around. A nice little shop on the outside, filled with rocks & gemstones & crystals as it's inventory.

"Shiny." Thatch commented.

I nodded & picked up a necklace. It was a black silk instead of a chain with a quartz crystal. It was nice, but more like something Aria or Mystic would wear. What really caught my eye was the banded onyx heart. I thought it was beautiful, but the price was too much for me after what I'd spent on Me & Megan.

Thatch, on the other hand, was talking to the owner about how the price of something like he had too much money to burn. Then I remembered his job at the hospital, he must be on the payroll now.

"I'll wait for you outside, Thatch." I called to him, pushing the door open.

It was five minutes before he came out. _Five!_ And with a bag filled with about six jewelry boxes. What was a guy doing in a jewelry store? "Sorry, I heard that this place was one of the finest jewelers in Amestris & picked up some early presents for the twins' birthday." That explains it.

"It's fine." I told him, eyeing the bag.

We headed off once again & didn't stop until we reached Gran's house. I knocked on the door, & Ozzie opened it almost as soon as my knuckles hit the wood.

"Hi, Griffon." He greeted happily. "Gran was just about to send Ari to get you."

"Really? Why?" I asked as I walked beside him.

Ozzie made a motion for my to bend down closer to him. "She wants to know about your wings."

As if on cue, the black monsters emerged from my back , this time without the large rush of pain. "You had to say it, didn't you, Oswald?"

"Sorry." Ozzie whimpered.

"Oh, you had better be." I growled, staring daggers at him.

He torn down the hallway yelling, "Gran! Ari! She's gonna kill me!"

I smiled & concentrated on reabsorbing my wings. "They're gone now." Thatch called, walking ahead of me.

I stuck out my tongue & followed behind him. This would be a long visit.

Megan ran in. "Hey sis."

"How did you get here?" I asked.

Megan shrugged. "I walked here myself."

This was going to be a _very_ long visit.

The day we were leaving, Aria, Oz & Zane came to say good bye. "My brother says bye, too. He got a stomach flu." Zane explained.

"Wish him well." I lied. Zach was a creep in my eyes, I couldn't care less. "You guys need to come visit us sometime."

"We'll try." Aria gave each of us a hug & Uncle Roy & Auntie R shook her hand. "Now that you mention it, it has been a while since I've visited Grant."

"Bye Ari, bye Ozzie." Megan said. She gave Ozzie a hug & kissed his cheek. "Hope to see you again."


End file.
